Images of detention centers at the U.S.-Mexico border and children taken from their parents are causing people around the U.S. to act. In Arkansas, groups are planning protests to tell their elected officials that laws and policies must change.
More than a dozen activists met in Little Rock Monday evening to begin planning a large protest in support of immigrants and the Hispanic community on Saturday, June 30.
People nationwide have decried a recent “zero tolerance” immigration policy outlined by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Anyone caught crossing the border illegally is to be prosecuted, and while parents are detained, to await trial or deportation, their children are sent to separate detention centers.
Federal officials have estimated that approximately 2,000 children have been taken from their parents since the beginning of April.
“Well, of course, everyone’s pretty upset, you know, seeing all these horrific stories that are occurring,” said Maria Meneses, a community organizer for Arkansas United Community Coalition. “And then, also, naturally, families within themselves are being affected directly by this.”
Anger reached a boiling point for some attendees at times during Monday’s meeting. One man suggested that the Statue of Liberty ought to be returned to France. “But don’t put on that plaque, ‘bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,’ and then ignore it,” he shouted.
Another person called Immigration and Customs Enforcement a terrorist organization. “They’re just using, you know, their position to intimidate people, and they’re doing it in the wrong way,” Meneses stated.
Members of Congress are writing bills that they claim will help families stay together. Bills from Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) are expected to come up for debate in the House of Representatives this week. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced a bill Monday that would create shelters where families could stay together, and hire more judges to speed up the rate at which asylum cases are processed.
That is something Rep. French Hill (R-Arkansas) said Monday that he supports. “I want to find ways to hold [families] together,” he said, “keep them together in the right conditions, and see if they’re seeking asylum or not.”
Rep. Hill said immigrants had been separated from their families in the past if they came in with felony convictions, or if there was a suspicion of human trafficking.
“But this issue where you have a family coming over who’s trying to seek asylum,” he added, “they’re supposed to go to a port of entry and seek asylum, and then they are held together in a much better way, as opposed to if they come outside a port of entry.”
A CBS News poll shows Republicans are essentially split about separating immigrant families. The poll showed that 36 percent of Republicans find the policy acceptable, while 39 percent did not. Democrats, however, oppose the policy at a 90% rate.
People at the meeting pledged to contact groups of various ideologies to help plan and participate in the protest, and Meneses expects people from both parties to join them. “Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat,” she said, “this is truly a non-partisan issue. It’s a moral issue.”
Some people at the meeting questioned whether local undocumented immigrants would or should join the protest. Meneses suggested that they likely would because of how much they believe in this cause.
“I would say that the undocumented community and documented community, of course, will come together,” she said, “because of what’s going on in this country, you know, the separation of families. And people are appalled, and really, really mad about this.
“It’s really up to them. But, we make sure that they are protected, and we make them aware of what their options are when it comes to civil disobedience and so forth, and we tell them, ‘look, our lawyers say this, we advise you to do this or not.’”
The Little Rock protest is being planned for June 30, to coincide with rallies nationwide being organized by Families Belong Together. People in Springdale will protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office this Thursday.