Locals join nationwide Families Belong Together rallies

The recorded sounds of children crying unified a large group of protesters outside a Calexico immigration detention center.

Imperial County District 5 Supervisor Ray Castillo said, “The sadness and the grief that a lot of these kids are experiencing as a result of being separated from their mothers or their fathers is also really sad and tragic.”

They’re part of hundreds of “Families Belong Together” rallies nationwide protesting President Trump’s zero-tolerance policy against undocumented immigrants which has separated over 2,000 children from parents attempting to cross the border, some seeking asylum.

Calexico native Martha Huantecani said, “People are not okay with this. I’m angry. They cannot be put in cages. They have to be freed. They have to be returned to their parents. And if we don’t speak up for them, who will? There’s no one else here to speak up for them. So, we have to be their voices.”

Rally organizer Raul Urena said, “It’s heartbreaking. It’s heart wrenching. But it’s also angry. It’s motivating for people to come out and make a difference. Whether it’s voting, whether it’s organizing people, whether it’s just talking to your neighbor over some Cafecito, whatever it is, I hope it’s moving.”

Castillo said it was his duty to speak out and questions why other local officials have kept quiet on the ongoing situation.

“No elected official in this county, you don’t see any stories about them speaking up. So, I thought it was important that I speak up about this. It’s not right. It’s immoral. Ten, twenty years from now, I can look back and say, you know what, I said something about it. I didn’t stay quiet.”

“Crime against humanity to do that to small innocent children,” Huantecani said.

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