Everything you need to know about the upcoming 'Families Belong Together' protests
Families belong together, and people across America are working hard to ensure that the government receives that message loud and clear.
On June 30, hundreds of events and marches to protest President Trump's strict "zero-tolerance" immigration policy will be held nationwide by advocacy organizations like MoveOn, the ACLU, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and more.
If you're looking participate and fight for the rights of immigrant families, here's everything you need to know about taking action and finding your local protest.
Since early May, more than 2,000 migrant children have been separated from their families at the border of the United States, and though President Trump recently signed an executive order that will keep families together at the border, there's still a great deal of work to be done.
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The New York Times reports that parents and children will now be "indefinitely" detained together at the border, but since we have yet to hear of plans to reunite the thousands of migrant families that have already been separated, the planned protests are still crucial.
How to locate a protest near you
The Families Belong Together National Day of Action will take place nationwide on Saturday, June 30, but you can easily plan ahead and locate protests nearest to you by visiting MoveOn.org.
The site provides details on the main event — which will take place across from the White House at Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Square at 11 a.m. local time — but lists more than 100 sister marches taking place across the country.
You can enter your ZIP code to find an event closest to you or browse every planned march via the interactive map or listing on the right-hand side of the site. There are even plans for international demonstrations, with marches scheduled in Amsterdam and Bristol.
Why these protests remain necessary
Despite Trump's executive order to allow families to remain together at the border in the future, many see the conditions surrounding the new process as equally inhumane.
While families are supposed to remain together, the order could allow for them to be detained indefinitely in poor conditions. And if families are held by the government for longer than legally allowed, they could still wind up separated.
In regard to families that have already been separated, many fear a majority of the families will never be reunited considering the lack of information that's been provided to detained parents on the whereabouts of their children.
Political leaders, like Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, have spoken publicly about the serious and inhumane problems that will continue to affect detained immigrants and families.
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"Donald Trump’s new executive order allows for the indefinite detention of families and that is absolutely unacceptable," Jayapal said in a statement released Wednesday. "Immigrant internment camps are cruel and inhumane. Moreover, lengthy or unnecessary detention of children has been ruled unlawful. The zero-tolerance policy itself must end. We cannot let up until we have a humane system in place."
Department of Justice officials have made it clear that the "zero-tolerance" policy still remains, and it doesn't appear that it will head to the chopping block anytime soon. Therefore, for advocates who remain concerned about family reunification and other "zero-tolerance" policy issues, the National Day of Action is still necessary.
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It is, however, worth noting that organizers may continue to alter the aim of their protests as this story progresses. For example, in the wake of the executive order, many who were fighting to prevent family separation have switched gears to focus on reuniting kids with their parents and fighting for humane family detention policies.
Other ways to participate
If there are no demonstrations planned for your area, MoveOn provides information on how to host an event in your community. MoveOn also offers informative materials including personal accounts from separated families, talking points for discussing family separation, and safety tips for attending protests. Posters and graphics that can be used to raise awareness are available for download on site.
It's also worth searching for local protests happening in the days leading up to June 30. Peaceful protests have already been held at airports, including LaGuardia Airport in New York, and other events are planned for Friday, June 22, in Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, Chicago, and more.
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And for even more information on how to help families at the border, check out our guide.
Topics Activism Social Good Politics
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
