On Saturday, June 9 at 10 AM, on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge in Westport, you can join others in protesting the indefensible Trump Administration policy of ripping children out of the arms of their parents(undocumented immigrants) and holding them in detention centers. Americans deserve to know how innocent children are being traumatized and separated from their parents. This practice is being done in the name of American citizens and using taxpayer dollars. The government is justifying this practice saying that by separating the children from their parents, that will discourage them from coming back.
Senator Jeff Merkley has so far been the only US Senator to visit the detention center in South Texas. He said, “My visit to the McAllen processing center was a harrowing experience. Children were in cages. People were distraught. Kids were ripped from their parents’ arms. It’s unconscionable that we are treating them this way.”
Senator Merkley also pointed out that there were no mattresses, just blankets on the floor. The government is only supposed to keep the children in the holding buildings where the cages are for 72 hours but because there are over 2000 young children and they have no place to put them, they are being kept there. They are talking about dispersing them on military bases.
"This is morally bankrupt and wrong on every level," Merkley said in his description of the process. He added, "You don't hurt children in order to influence policy decision."
Americans need to know what is being done in their name and we all need to join Senator Merkley in making the public aware of this brutal policy.
The coordinators of this gathering, Fran Southworth and Rozanne Gates, urge everyone to join them in this protest on Saturday June 9, 10 AM. Westport. Bridge on the Post Road.