Mass rallies decry Don’s immig policy
Thousands of protesters marched from downtown Manhattan to Brooklyn Saturday in support of migrant families separated at the US-Mexico border — one of about 750 rallies nationwide against President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy.
Eighty-year-olds with “Abolish ICE” pins on their walkers joined couples with babies in strollers in the Families Belong Together march, which started in Manhattan’s Foley Square, near the federal immigration court, and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza, near a federal courthouse.
“I’m here because I’m disgusted, outraged and frightened by our government,” said Lisa Zieger, 66, of Newark, NJ, noting it was her first time participating in a protest. “I’ve never felt so personally threatened before. It’s important to come out, to put your body on the line.”
Organizers estimated about 20,000 turned up for the march, which drew honks of support from motorists as it streamed over the bridge in the withering heat. The NYPD declined to confirm the figure.
Separate protests were held in Staten Island and Queens.
A march in Washington, DC, drew about 30,000, and tens of thousands gathered in Chicago despite a heat index of 110 degrees.
The protests’ focus was on the roughly 2,000 children separated from their families under Trump’s immigration policy in recent weeks. Several hundred reportedly have been reunited with family. Trump signed an executive order on June 20 halting his pol- icy of separating children from their parents at the border. “This is our ‘throw your body on the gears of the machine’ moment,” said protester David Siffert, 34, of the East Village, who marched in a suit despite heat topping 90 degrees. “I came from the airport to be here. It’s important. It shows people how we feel. If people are willing to show up in the streets for something, they’re going to vote for it.” Dorrie Lubowsky, 55, of Midwood, Brooklyn, said she was participating as a child of two Holocaust survivors. “I know what the lasting effect of this is,” she said. “We’ve got to come out while we still have a voice to be heard. I’m seriously worried.” In Queens, about 2,000 marched from Jackson Heights to Astoria. Among them was new Democratic congressional nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, still riding high off her upset victory over Rep. Joseph Crowley in last week’s primary. Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned on abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, urged marchers to fight against “displacement and fear.” “I am confident and hopeful that it will not last long and that it will not last forever, because of every single individual who’s on this block today,” she said. Mayor de Blasio skipped the marches but echoed her comments during an event at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “We need comprehensive immigration reform, and we need new agencies to replace ICE,” he said.