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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Emergency Prayer Vigil for Separated Families |
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ORANGE, CA (6/20/18) — On Wednesday, June 20, a coalition of refugee and immigrants’ rights groups will be holding a public vigil in solidarity with separated families in detention centers and children held in cages as a result of the Trump administration’s racist immigration policies. The solidarity action will take place at the Theo Lacy Facility at 7:00 pm. “The current administration has trained us to see refugees and immigrants at the border as “criminals,” and “animals”. Nature has taught us that migration is normal, but because businesses and the government benefit from ‘crimmigration’ we are seeing the devastating results today. Once you strip people of their humanity, you give yourself free license do anything to them… Including taking away their children.” – Monica Curca, Director and Founder of Activate Labs “This issue is no longer a debate about immigration or security. The ordeal of these helpless children is about what our core values as Americans are or will become. It is about how the rest of the world perceives us. This is a time for all of us to stand together – united – against cruelty, inhumanity, and fascism, a time to say, ‘As Americans, we must and can be better than this.’ “ – Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director of the Greater Los Angeles Area Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA). “Family separation causes irreparable harm. No one should have to go through this and we won’t stay silent in the face of the brutal, inhumane policies. The U.S. has a long history of separating marginalized families. It’s time we put an end to such atrocities. We have “tender age facilities” in this country… Let that sink in.” – Johanna Mustafa, Arab American Civic Council Program Coordinator “Security, rule of law and compassion are not mutually exclusive and can be practiced together, as has been done under multiple presidential administrations – both republican and democrat. This is a human issue, not a partisan one.Families torn apart at the border are not sneaking in or entering “illegally.” They are coming the right way. The only way. Presenting themselves before border patrol and asking for asylum. This is NOT a crime.” – Jose Serrano, World Relief Immigration Specialist WHAT: Emergency Prayer Vigil for Separated Families To request an interview, please contact our Communications Manager at efields@cair.com. ### Photo Courtesy of Wit and Delight. |
