Here's Where To Find A Families Belong Together March To Protest Family Separation
This weekend, Americans will come together en masse once more to protest another major policy move by President Donald Trump and his administration — this time, to speak out on his policy of separating and detaining immigrant families at the border. Wondering where to find a Families Belong Together march? With as many as there are happening around the country this weekend, you're bound to find one near you.
"The sheer number of events planned for family separation protests on Saturday is remarkable," tweeted MSNBC host Chris Hayes on June 28. And he has a point: In addition to the official march in Washington D.C., there are over 700 sister events listed in the map database, with over 100 in California alone. The solidarity marches have also gone global, with two slated to take place in Germany.
By the looks of it, the Families Belong Together marches will draw significant crowds. On Facebook, thousands of users indicated they'd be attending the sister marches; 7,000 in Los Angeles, 17,000 in DC, and close to 9,000 in New York.
The official march takes place on Saturday, June 30 at 11 a.m. in LaFayette Park in Washington D.C. — a stone's throw from the White House. Those attending are encouraged to wear white.
"We see the outrage and we see that this has to taken right to the White House, right to Donald Trump, to stop family separations," Washington Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal told Hayes on June 18, announcing the march. "Every single day I have constituents calling my office — and not just from my district, from across the country — saying, 'How can we stop this?'"
Like the number of events, the volume of nonprofits and organizations signed on to the march — collectively, the Families Belong Together (FBT) Coalition — is massive. Notably, its support appears to be widespread, cutting across party lines and civic groups.
Bowing to public condemnation around the country and globe, Trump signed an executive order on June 20 that discontinued the family separation practice. However, it was only part of the issue. The coalition, in a statement on its website, explains that, while the administration won't continue to separate families moving forward, the problem isn't over. The coalition states,
[W]e're rallying in Washington, D.C., and around the country to tell Donald Trump and his administration to permanently end the separation of kids from their parents. End family internment camps. End the "zero-humanity" policy that created this crisis. And reunify the children with their parents.
Prior to the order's issuance on June 20, some 2,300 children had been reportedly separated from their parents, according to DHS officials. While the families are no longer being separated, they are being kept together in detention.
Jayapal, for the record, was arrested along with another nearly 600 women in the capital on June 28 as they demonstrated outside the Senate. Sharing a video from the scene, Jayapal tweeted Thursday, "I was just arrested with 500+ women and @WomensMarch to say @RealDonaldTrump's cruel zero-tolerance policy will not continue. Not in our country. Not in our name. June 30 we're putting ourselves in the street again."
"EVERY LAST ONE OF US belongs at the march on Saturday," tweeted Walter Shaub, former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
Anna Galland, executive director of MoveOn.org, suggested that the executive order wasn't necessarily cause for celebration — or backing down. "[N]o reason to trust this chaotic administration to comply," she tweeted on June 27. "Doesn't end family internment camps. Doesn't end the Zero-Humanity policy. See you Saturday. WEAR WHITE."
The events around the country are searchable by zip code and state. While some regional marches have already taken place, the majority of sister events will happen on June 30.
In addition to the marches, the coalition is asking citizens to sign a petition to prevent the jailing of children, donate to the cause, and purchase the official Families Belong Together apparel, proceeds from which benefit RAICES's bond fund to get parents released from detention.
