Immigration protesters look to ride ‘wave’ of momentum
WASHINGTON – Their chants echoed through the streets of the nation’s capital, at immigration detention centers and at community parks.
President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy led tens of thousands to take to the streets Saturday, demanding change and that children separated from their families be reunited at once. The Families Belong Together rallies – more than 600 in all 50 states – captured headlines and the attention of millions.
Now what? Will the issue and the outrage fade into the background or help lead to a pivotal moment in the debate over immigration in the USA?
“I’ve never seen so many people that so deeply care about immigration. This is unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s just a huge amount of opportunity, and we have to ride this wave to making change,” said Karthik Ganapathy, a spokesman for MoveOn.org, one of the organizations behind the rallies.
He said that although many demonstrators were angered seeing young children separated from their parents, a good number are new to the debate over immigration and to the movement fighting Trump’s policies. Ganapathy said his group has a plan to keep people engaged and the conversation going:
❚ Town halls: During the July 4 recess, activists plan to pressure members of Congress to hold town halls to discuss immigration and confront leaders to take a stand.
❚ Corporation campaign: Colors of Change, an advocacy organization that helps people of color, will take the lead in urging corporations to take hard stances on this issue.
❚ Voting: The biggest factor in gar- nering change is voting, Ganapathy said. Making immigration a major voting issue in the midterm elections could help sway politicians to break with Trump’s policy, he said.
Those at the rallies said they know the marches probably won’t be enough to lead to meaningful change, but they don’t intend to sit idly by.
“I’m gonna vote. I’m gonna encourage other people to vote because there’s a lot at stake and it’s important to make sure everyone’s informed,” Beth Stewart said while sitting in 90-degree heat at the Washington rally.
Massive protests and rallies – from gun control to women’s rights to climate change – have almost become the new normal. The question remains whether outrage can translate into action for change.
Students in Parkland, Florida, who saw 17 people die in a shooting Feb. 14, were the driving force behind the March for Our Lives, a nationwide demonstration in March to end gun violence. Those students shifted their gun control demands into a bus tour across the USA to sign up young people to vote in hopes of keeping the conversation going. Even though their voices have been loud in calling for change, very little has been done, except for a change in Florida’s gun laws.
Since the backlash over separating families, judges have weighed in, Trump signed an executive order to keep parents and children together, a travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries was upheld in the Supreme Court, and lawmakers failed to pass a bill on immigration.