Hundreds Gather At Families Belong Together Rally
Crowd Chants: No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcomed here
The hundreds that gathered in Springwood Avenue Park Saturday sent a loud message, chanting in unison – No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcomed here.
“There will be more rallies,” organizer Jess Alaimo said. “They want you to get tired, they want you to burn out. You have to keep showing up, keep chanting, it matters…”
Leaders of local churches joined community organizers and local dignitaries at the local Families Belong Together rally put together by members of the Asbury Park Women’s March, Asbury Park Women’s Convention, Kivvit, Hunnell & Breitowich, and Garden State Equality.
Among the pinnacle moments was Rev Nicolle Harris, a city native, leading the crowd in a rendition of ‘Lean on Me.’
The Garden State Equality sold gray cotton t-shirts reading ‘We Really Do Care, Don’t U,’ with proceeds going directly to immigration reform organizations. There were voter registration tables and yellow wristbands distributed to represent the over 2,000 children that remain separated from their parents.
The event was among the over 600 nationwide day of action rallies held in protest of the federal immigration policy that resulted in children being held in fenced detention centers.
And while President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end his administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy, it does not offer any clear plan to reunite families.
US Congressman Frank Pallone Jr spoke about not only the immediate need to reunite families but to correct the status of dreamers and provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented residents who have been here for years, paid taxes and been law abiding citizens.
The handmade signs read everything from “When Injustice Becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty,’ to “Is This Still America,’ and ‘Kids Belong With Their Parents, Make America Empathetic Again.”
“The speakers had a lot of us in tears,” Mike Honig posted via social media. “A 15-year-old girl talked about the day last month when her father, a legal immigrant, was hauled away to detention by ICE. Then an LCSW told about the permanent physical and mental damage that can come from the type of trauma being inflicted on these kids.”
The 15-year-old girl is the daughter of Cloyd Eralin, a 30 year long green card holder who was taken into custody at 5:30 a.m. June 4 by immigration officials, family members said.
Eralin’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund his legal fees and have said any excess money raised will be donated to support other immigrant families in similar situations.
[Photos courtesy of social media posts]
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