WATSONVILLE — Protests broke out across the nation Thursday in response to new immigration policies implemented by the Trump Administration that have been separating children from their families at the Mexico-U.S. border.
National organization Families Belong Together, or Familias Unidas No Divididas, organized the protests in at least 60 cities, with many following their lead. In Watsonville, the Santa Cruz Immigration Project as well as a number of other groups came together to organize a rally at Watsonville Plaza Thursday afternoon.
“This is a very serious issue,” said Paulina Moreno of the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County. “It needs to be addressed immediately. What’s been happening to these children is wrong in every way.”
The Trump Administration has implemented federal prosecution to anyone crossing into the U.S. illegally. This means that adults will automatically be sent to federal jail as criminals — where their children cannot follow.
According to a recent CNN report, thousands of families have been separated at the border since the report was made known in May. Children are taken to various facilities, some provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
“I know how much damage it can do, being separated like that,” said Judy Heyboer, who attended the Watsonville rally with her son. “What they’ve been doing is unthinkably cruel.”
Protesters lined up along Watsonville Plaza on Main Street, holding up signs with messages such as “End family separation” and “no human being is illegal,” as cars continually honked in support. Yellow wristbands were passed out to participants, signifying those that were used to identify many parents who’d been separated from their children earlier in the year.
“It’s absolutely appalling, ripping families apart like that,” said protestor Trisha Husome, shaking her head. “This is not the America I want to live in.”
