Media Contact: Micaela Eller Tel: 805-208-0256 Email: micaelaeller@gmail.com
FAMILIES BELONG TOGETHER MARCH AND RALLY WILL TAKE PLACE IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ON JUNE 14TH
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
NOTE: UPDATED LOCATION AND DETAILS FROM PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT OF JUNE 7, 2018
AUSTIN, TX (June 11, 2018) -- On June 14th, 2018, Austin will host a rally to protest the current administration’s callous treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers.
The announcement of June 7, indicated that the march would begin outside Austin City Hall at 6PM However, one of the local organizations we reached out to, Grassroots Leadership, is already hosting an event at City Hall in support of the Austin City Council Vote on the Freedom City Policy and as such the event has been adjusted. The focus will now be on the rally at the Texas State Capitol starting at 6:30PM Participants can begin gathering between 6 - 6:30PM or they can join the event at City Hall before heading over to the rally at 6:30 p.m. While these are separate events they both will have tremendous impact on immigrant families in Austin and those arriving at the border. The rally will have a diverse, expert and inspirational speaker lineup and end by 8PM with a Call to Action.
On Sunday, June 10, MoveOn.org will be hosting a call where these nationwide events will be announced and supported by the National Domestic Workers Alliance the sponsor for Families Belong Together national organizing committee.
A section for the media will be available at the rally for a 5-minute post-stage Q&A and a 15-minute end-of-rally media melee.
Families Belong Together is a coalition of concerned citizens who are disheartened by the lack of leadership in Congress whose job is to be a check on the federal government when it overreaches and abuses its power and commits these atrocities in the name of the American people. These immigrants are victims of violence, hunger, and poverty and our government’s actions re-violate them, causing untold damage. Children as young as 18 months are torn from their mothers’ arms by our own government. We are calling for immediate reforms because these practices are not in line with American values.
Since March of 2017, when then DHS Secretary John Kelly confirmed considering a family separation policy. Although Kelly had originally backed down due to mounting pressure, from July - November 2017, an internal memo showed that the current administration implemented the family separation process in New Mexico and West Texas for 5 months. Since that time, the current administration has only ramped up their cruel and inhumane policy of family separation, and on April 20, 2018, government data obtained by the New York Times showed that DHS had already separated 700 children from parents, including over 100 children under the age of 4. This all culminated to the actions of May 7, 2018, when Sessions issued a statement explaining the policy of prosecuting parents and separating families:
I have put in place a “zero tolerance” policy for illegal entry on our Southwest border. If you cross this border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. It’s that simple. If you smuggle illegal aliens across our border, then we will prosecute you. If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child will be separated from you as required by law.
Families Belong Together is a coalition of Americans who oppose the treatment of immigrant families, and indeed all immigrants, by the current administration and past administrations. We stand against the separation of children from their families and other human rights abuses associated with the U.S. immigration enforcement apparatus. We demand immediate reforms to address this inhumane treatment of innocent human beings on our own soil.
To learn more, please visit http://familiesbelong.org
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National Press Release:
National Marches to Take Place on June 14th to Protest Treatment of Immigrant Children & Families
Media Contact: Anna Tarkov Tel. 773-844-6302 Email: media@familiesbelong.org
FAMILIES BELONG TOGETHER DEMONSTRATIONS WILL TAKE PLACE IN CITIES ACROSS AMERICA ON JUNE 14TH ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
USA (June 3, 2018) -- On June 14th, 2018, cities across the US will host marches, rallies, and vigils to protest the current administration’s callous treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers.
Over 3,000 people have volunteered to lead and participate in events that will take place on Thursday, June 14. “The amount of outrage that’s out there and the latent power behind it… and this is just the beginning,” said Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance on a recent segment of MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes.
Those interested in either participating or leading a demonstration should sign up to be notified of activity in their area or to be added to our national organizing group.
Who is Families Belong Together and what is the organization’s mission? We are a group of concerned citizens who oppose the cruel, inhumane, and unjustified separation of children from their parents along the U.S. border with Mexico and at other ports of entry into the U.S. We protest the barbaric conditions in which these innocent children and their parents are kept. We protest the irreversible trauma that our government has caused these families. Their only crime was to seek a better life.
As a nation of immigrants, it is unconscionable that our government is actively tearing apart immigrant families. These immigrants are victims of violence, hunger, and poverty and our government’s actions re-violate them, causing untold damage. Children as young as 18 months are torn from their mothers’ arms by our own government. This is violent abuse and as concerned citizens and voters we state, unequivocally, that this is not in line with American values.
Families Belong Together opposes the inhumane policies of the Trump Administration, Border Control, ICE, and other federal agencies. We are disheartened by the lack of leadership in Congress whose job is to be a check on the federal government when it overreaches and abuses its power. We are calling for immediate reforms and an end to this barbarism.
We will be announcing partner organizations in the coming weeks. We stand in solidarity with organizations already working on these issues who organized the June 1 National Day of Action For Children: United We Dream, The National Domestic Workers Alliance, MomsRising, ACLU, MoveOn, and We Belong Together.
Families Belong Together is a coalition of Americans who oppose the treatment of immigrant families, and indeed all immigrants, by the current administration and past administrations. We stand against the separation of children from their families and other human rights abuses associated with the U.S. immigration enforcement apparatus. We demand immediate reforms to address this inhumane treatment of innocent human beings on our own soil. To learn more, please visit http://familiesbelong.org