6/30/18: Keep Kids Together Rally

KEEP FAMILIES TOGETHER ACTION

PURPOSE: Oppose Trump’s Zero Tolerance Policy Enacted as Separation of Families

ACTION: Gather to Stand for Keeping Families Together & Reuniting Those Separated. Several groups will be participating in this event to support families.

WHEN : Saturday, June 30

TIME: 10 AM – 12 Noon

WHERE: Buckley Park 12th and Main

WHAT TO DO: Make and bring signs and banners supporting immigrant families, legislation and services to end this trauma

SAMPLE MESSAGES:

Pass the Keep Families Together Act
End Family Separation At the Border
Stop Republican Immigration Bills
Support Women in Sanctuary
Make DACA a Reality
Stop ICE Cruelty to Children
Promote the People’s Resolution
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: 
National Organizations of many varieties, including faith, legal, civil, political, unions, immigrant, civil rights and advocacy groups are calling for unity on June 30th to stand together and say Keep Families Together.
Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, with a group of 31 of his colleagues, this week introduced legislation to keep immigrant families together by preventing the Department of Homeland Security from taking children from their parents at the border.

The Keep Families Together Act was developed in consultation with child welfare experts to ensure the federal government is acting in the best interest of children. The American Academy of Pediatrics, Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Children’s Law Center and the Young Center for Immigrant Rights support the bill.
On May 7, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that all adults who arrive at the border would be prosecuted for illegal entry, even if they attempt to seek asylum. This policy, which has never before been pursued, has resulted in parents being separated from their children. Prosecuting individuals who are seeking asylum may also violate the United States’ obligations under international law, including the U.N. convention on refugees and its Protocol.

At a May 24, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Customs and Border Protection informed the committee that 658 children were taken from 638 parents during a 14-day period in May, an average of 47 children being taken from their parents each day.

To protect the welfare of children, the bill allows the government to separate them from their parents only in the event that they are trafficking or abusing them.