‘Mourn-in’ in America
Activists protest outside an East Harlem shelter Wednesday against President Trump's zero-tolerance policy of separating immigrant families.
The dozens of demonstrators gathered at the Cayuga Center on W. 125th St. sang hymns and spoke out against the federal government's treatment of immigrant children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. More than 200 of these kids are housed at the center.
“My faith does not advocate locking babies in cages,” civil rights activist Ruby Sales said.
Sales pointed to letters posted outside the facility's walls thanking people for donations toward food and toys.
“I wonder, what manner of people will say they stand for justice and give money to people who abuse children,” she said. “What manner of people, after all of what we've read, do not understand that they have stolen these children — that they're not their caretakers, that their parents are their caretakers.
“And when we donate to these people in these sites, what we do is we give credibility to the fact that their parents are unfit parents — we give credit to the mythology that their parents are animals,” she added.
The Rev. Jacqui Lewis said he believes America won't be independent until it welcomes immigrants.
“We're here today because we really believe, as people of faith, that we're not free until everyone is free — we're not liberated until everyone is liberated,” Lewis said. “My liberation is wrapped up in up your liberation.”
Cayuga Centers offers “immigrant foster care,” and other services aimed at “caring for the most vulnerable children,” according to its website.
Mayor de Blasio toured the East Harlem facility on June 20, telling reporters 239 immigrant kids were currently staying there — and that it housed 350 children over the last two months. De Blasio described seeing 30 to 40 kids packed into classrooms, the youngest only 9 months old.
That same day, Trump signed an executive order to end family separations, but it's unclear how the federal government will reunite the kids and adults.