A newly-opened "tent city" along the Texas border is now at the center of the national immigration debate. The camp is housing teenage boys who illegally entered the United States — unaccompanied by an adult.
They’re being moved there to make room at shelters for a growing number of migrant children who were separated from their parents under the Trump administration’s "zero tolerance" immigration policy.
Thousands of protesters chanted and held signs Sunday, demanding the Trump administration stops separating children from their parents at the border.
Protests are set to take place locally this week with Montanans for Immigrant Justice (MIJ) — along with other groups — plan to march outside the Missoula jail on Wednesday, June 20th beginning at 5 p.m.
“This is beyond all partisan politics. These policies are in violation of international human rights, civil rights and human dignity. This is about moral decency,” says Rebecca Weston, co-director of MIJ.
In a news release, MIJ listed the following "demands" of local elected officials:
- Denounce the Administration’s “zero-tolerance” criminalization and family separation policy
- Support the Keep Families Together Act
- Denounce ICE racial profiling and family separations
- Support a Clean Dream Act.
The Montana Human Rights Network will also be hosting a discussion on the separation of immigrant families in Helena on Thursday, June 21st.
