Protesters tell Lankford to oppose separations
Each morning, Shanna Allen scrolls through her phone and calls the number she has jokingly listed as “BFF Senator Lankford” to tell Oklahoma’s junior U.S. senator that he should oppose the separation of children from their parents at the southern border.
“He isn’t really calling me back the way a BFF” — or best friend forever — “would,” she said.
So, on Monday, Allen joined about 50 other protesters outside Lankford’s office in Automobile Alley. The group, holding handmade signs, urged the Oklahoma City Republican to support a Democratic bill that would prohibit federal agents from separating families as a deterrent against undocumented immigration.
“I’m appealing to him and his humanity,” said Rena Guay, the event’s organizer. “He’s a human being, a father. This is so basic that it transcends politics and faith. All people understand that families are a unit and children need that chemistry.”
Lankford is an interesting target for protest since he announced Sunday that he, too, opposes the separation of children from parents
entering the country illegally, a position his office reiterated in response to the protest Monday.
“Senator Lankford does not support the separation of families at the border. Senator Lankford has been and continues to work with the (Trump) administration and his colleagues in the Senate to protect families and the U.S. border," said spokeswoman Aly Beley.
For the protesters outside his office, though, words were not enough. They want to see Lankford co-sponsor the Keep Families Together Act, which would prohibit the separation of children from their parents except in cases of abuse, child trafficking or when a state judge orders the separation.
“I am the daughter of an immigrant and I see this country as a land of opportunity, a place where people come for equality,” said Trina Bose North, a pastor at Crown Heights United Methodist Church. “Truly, I think this is a really wonderful country, but we’re really only as wonderful as we are to the least among us.”
Signs at the protest read, “Seeking asylum is not a crime,” and “Separation = Child abuse” and “Families Belong Together.” One told Lankford, a former Baptist preacher, that “Jesus was a migrant’s child.”
The separations stem from attempts by the Trump administration to enhance criminal prosecutions for adults illegally entering the country. That has led to an increase in children being separated from their parents.
“This, in my opinion, is cruel and unusual punishment,” said protester Conna Wilkinson.
Two police officers on bicycles watched over the protest at times but the crowd remained calm. Several mothers brought their young children, including Allen, who attended with her son, Arlo. The mothers traveled up two floors and met with Lankford’s staff, but said they were unimpressed by the reception they received.
“It was very important to us that we bring Arlo because we want Arlo to grow up to be a worldchanger too,” Allen said as she stood behind her son’s stroller.
“Why should we have a safe baby?” she asked. “Why should we be able to be safe and comfortable in our houses while there are moms who are freaking out because their babies are separated?”