Tens of thousands of DC protestors called for an overhaul of immigration policy in the US and said that allowing families to stay together in detention centers is not enough
Story Transcript
HECTOR: We have entire sectors of the economy that are addicted to cheap disposable labor. …made trouble all over the nation to win with their work, and it’s the best work that I have seen.
NICOLE FABRICANT: We are here because it’s not just about separating children from their parents. This is about militarization, criminalization of undocumented people. I would like to see people given asylum, I would like to see- particularly Central Americans in the conflicts that we have created, those folks deserve a right to live in the United States, should have total protection of citizenship, access to education and higher education.
CHRISTIAN: If you can’t go to Disney World and cut the line or break in, you shouldn’t be able to cut the line or break into our country. And everyone here I think wants strong borders.
DHARNA NOOR: But what about the people who are here because they’re leaving sort of horrific conditions?
DR. TRENT: Let me- this is ridiculous. I mean, that’s all terrible and it should be taken care of. But you only have to go blocks from here and every inner city, Chicago, tremendous- there are tens of thousands of kids on the street that don’t have places to live every night. Let’s start taking care of those people immediately, first.
CAROL ELROD: People flee their countries for a variety of reasons. It’s not an easy decision to make by any stretch of the imagination. So, when people decide to leave everything that they know with twenty-five cents in their pockets to bring their kids up here, they’re doing it to protect their children. And so, when they’re asking for asylum, we as a country should give it to them.
ROBERT KOULISH: We see that the courts aren’t addressing- going to be addressing things as we probably want to and as immigrants need them to. And I think it’s time for the people to be speaking out and making their voices heard.
DHARNA NOOR: How are you feeling right now?
SPEAKER: Well, I’m really sad that families are being separated and I don’t want to be separated from their family.
DHARNA NOOR: Why did you decide to come today?
SPEAKER: Because I wanted to show that families…
LORENA: There hasn’t really been a change. The children keep crying and immigrants continue to be violated, harmed and hurt.
LEAH: I live with the constant fear of losing my mom to deportation. My mom is strong, beautiful and brave. She is also a person who taught me how to speak up when I see things that aren’t fair.
CAROLINE: I’m 16 years old and today is my birthday. I just imagined all the people my age or younger who have been separated, and that there needs to be a solution to this horrendous problem.
CAROL ELROD: I think we’ve had a long history of things like this. My my own parents and their families were given two weeks to pack up everything they owned and sell everything they owned at the beginning of World War II.
DHARNA NOOR: They were Japanese?
CAROL ELROD: No, well my parents and their siblings were Americans.
DHARNA NOOR: Yeah, it’s interesting to be here in the height of this heat wave and protesting ICE. I’ve seen a bunch of signs it today that say, “Melt the ICE.”
LUCY: Yeah, I did. I was actually pretty ironic about that. A few times, I wish I had my own ice. But you know, I’m still for it, we’ll melt it. I’ll take a hot day over ICE any day.