US PROTESTERS TAKE FIGHT TO DETENTION UNITS

I know those families are suffering and it is very hard to see that children have to go through the trauma of a detention centre when they are 5 yrs old — ERICA LEYVA, a protester

Otay Mesa (US), June

24: “Where are the children?” several women shout together from behind the detention centre wall.

“We want the children free!” “Do you hear us?” supporters ask from outside. “What do you need?” This was the short interplay on Saturday between hundreds of protesters and people being held at a US detention centre for undocumented migrants in Otay Mesa, on the border with Mexico.

A group of people held at the centre were separated from their children as part of President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy. The president on Wednesday signed an order ending the practice of splitting migrant families, but 2,300 children have already been separated from their parents.

“Shame,” “Abolish ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement),” and “You’re not alone,” shouted the estimated 500 protesters rallied by religious leaders.

Otay Mesa detention centre — managed by a private company — has the capacity for some 1,500 people, though in January it announced an expansion of 30 per cent, according to local media. ICE did not respond to calls about the detention centre. Demonstrators covered the name of the detention centre with a white sheet that read “concentration camp”.