More than 175 people gathered in Charlottesville Tuesday night to demand an end to the zero tolerance policy announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions along the nation’s southern border. That policy has led to separation of children from parents and it is unpopular with many in Central Virginia.
At the start of the rush hour it was clear that plenty of people agreed with nearly 200 demonstrators. They lined a busy intersection, holding hand-made signs, calling on the Trump administration to stop separating refuges from their kids.
“My sign says, ‘No excuse for child abuse ! Just stop! And yours? Shame! Children aren’t pawns. Taking away the children is what the Nazis did. ICE ist gestapo. Resist facism. Stop Trump, stop kidnapping. Jeff, not sure what book you’ve been reading, but Matthew 25:32:40 is pretty clear: I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. The only child that should be locked in a cage is Donald Trump.”
Meanwhile, two lawyers – Kristin Clarens and April Wimberly – said they had spent the weekend worrying about the situation and decided to volunteer at the nation’s largest family detention center in Dilly, Texas.
“The human instinct is to just want to go down there and make somebody feel better,” Clarins explains.
They called friends with medical skills and those who spoke Spanish to join them, and they set up a GoFundMe page to defray travel costs – hoping to raise $6,000. Sitting in our studio two days later, Clarens checked her phone and told Wimberly.
“So now, actually, we’re at $12,000."
"Oh my gosh!” Wimberley gasped.
Other demonstrators urged area residents to call their Congressman, to e-mail the local jail and demand an end to cooperation with federal agents from ICE and to support immigrant families here. I’m Sandy Hausman.
For more on the local lawyers and friends planning to volunteer at a refugee detention center in Texas see their GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/border-detention-ctr-child-advocacy
