Family separations stir more controversy
Dozens in Phoenix assemble for rally denouncing Trump
Dozens gathered outside the Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse in downtown Phoenix late Monday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy that has separated thousands of migrant children from their parents.
The gathering was organized by Puente Arizona, a grassroots migrants-rights organization, and began just before 5 p.m. outside the courthouse near Fourth Avenue and Washington Street. It was the second consecutive day such a protest has occurred in central Phoenix.
In a press release, the organization said the goal of the rally was to “demand the end
to this administration’s cruel tactics to criminalize and dehumanize migrant communities.”
“There should be no jails and prisons or detention centers for children,” said Puente Arizona organizer Francisca Porchas, who addressed the group of nearly 50 people.
“We will not allow our kids to be held hostage. We will not allow ourselves to be held hostage and will put a stop to this,” Porchas said before directing her anger at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who enacted the policy under Trump’s direction, and the president himself.
“We will shut down Sessions, and we will shut down Trump, and we will shut down the whole damn country if we have to,” she said, drawing cheers from those gathered.
The group had children hold up letters at the opening of the event that spelled out, “Abolish ICE,” a reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that is enforcing the policy.
Puente volunteer Cynthia Diaz said she agrees with abolishing ICE, adding that her mother was deported during an ICE raid at her home in 2011 under the Obama administration.
Diaz said she woke up that morning to see her mother being put into the back of an undercover van and was unable to say goodbye.
After three years in Mexico, Diaz said her mother received political asylum and has been back in the United States since.
She said she identifies with the migrant youths who are taken from their parents at the border given her own experience with a sudden separation from a parent.
“I went through the trauma and the children are still being put through the trauma and it does have an impact in the long run, especially in the younger ones that aren’t fully developed and are so scared to be alone,” she said.
Katelyn Rust attended the event and said that although she isn’t personally impacted by immigration policies, it was important for her to stand up for those who are.
“I might not be the most expert person to speak about this or by any means the most qualified, especially as a white person and a citizen,” Rust said. “But I just feel like it’s important to use my privilege to shed light on issues like this.
“I think that the only way white people can effectively fight against that (social injustices) is both weaponizing their privilege and yielding their platforms to the many more qualified people to talk about them.”
Shannon Brien, a law student at Arizona State University, also attended the rally.
Brien said she feels “hopeless” seeing images of migrant children separated from their parents but that being active in protests and rallies helps her express her anger and make an impact.
“We’re talking about people fleeing violence for the sake of their children’s safety,” she said. “I know it’s sort of cliche, but it’s for the kids. And it’s really about keeping families together. I can’t think of anything that moves me to action more than that.”
Protesters gathered first on the sidewalk outside the building, eventually moving up the few steps to the courthouse grounds.
The group chanted, rallied and paraded around the property before three officials with the U.S. Marshals Service approached organizers and said that they did not have a permit to bring props — in this case, a microphone — onto courthouse grounds.
A brief, tense exchange ensued, with an organizer accusing the agents of siding with the Trump administration and not allowing them to peacefully express their anger at immigration policies.
Eventually, the group moved back to the city sidewalk and continued the rally, which was scheduled to continue until 8 p.m.
The zero-tolerance policy directs Border Patrol officials to pursue criminal prosecution against all people entering the country illegally, even against immigrants seeking asylum. It also separates parents who are detained under the policy from their children.
Those children of migrants attempting to cross the border and seek asylum are transferred to government care in a move that has sparked outcry from both Republicans and Democrats.
The situation in recent days has drawn widespread criticism not only from Democrats, but some Republicans who have condemned the policy as unnecessarily cruel.
Trump has said the administration is only following the law and blamed Democrats for not backing reform.