Thousands of irate protesters are expected to attend a march in New York City this Saturday to demand an end to the separation of immigrant children from their families. The End Family Separation NYC Rally and March is one of several similar #FamiliesBelongTogether events planned across the U.S. this weekend in response to the Trump administration’s zero tolerance immigration policy and the subsequent separation and detention of more than 2,500 children and infants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
New York’s family separation rally will come more than a week after President Trump signed an executive order ending the short-lived and highly unpopular family-separation policy, but there is still no definitive plan as to how those thousands of reportedly traumatized children will be reunited with their families.
Organizers of Saturday’s family separation protest, Rise and Resist, called the conditions in which children were being detained “deplorable” and described the Trump policy as “un-American.”
“Families belong together, and we need to end this — NOW!” organizers wrote on the rally’s Facebook page.
When and where is the Family Separation NYC Rally and March?
New York’s family separation march will be held midday on Saturday, June 30. Protesters will begin gathering at 10 a.m. at Foley Square at 111 Worth Street in Manhattan, then march across the Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn. The official rally program will start at 11:45 a.m. in Cadman Plaza, according to organizers, and will conclude there at 1 p.m.
“We hope to see thousands of people in the streets and at the border on June 30th demanding this policy end,” organizers wrote, adding that anyone attending the New York rally should commit to participating “nonviolently and in accordance with the law.”
More than 7,000 people said on Facebook that they will attend Saturday’s NYC march, with another 15,000 people expressing interest.
About Rise and Resist NY
The organizers of Saturday’s family separation protest describes itself on Twitter as “a direct action group committed to opposing, disrupting, and defeating any government act that threatens democracy, equality, and our civil liberties.” The group was also planning a protest in Foley Square Tuesday evening in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold Trump’s Muslim travel ban.
“It’s crucial that we have a visible, strong presence across the country of people who care about Muslim and refugee communities and oppose Trump’s White Nationalist agenda,” organizers said of the #StandWithMuslims in NY protest.
