‘Families Belong Together Rally’ Planned In Watsonville

WATSONVILLE, CA — A rally intended to send a message to lawmakers that families should be kept together will be held in Watsonville this weekend. The "Families Belong Together Rally" is being hosted by local activists in the community. The rally will be held on June 30 in Watsonville at 2 p.m. at the Watsonville City Plaza.

"We are getting together to tell the president and the congress that families belong together and to criminalize immigrants including asylum seekers is not acceptable," spokesperson Kyoko Takayama told Patch.

A rally and march will also be held in nearby Santa Cruz at 10 a.m. at the Santa Cruz City Hall. Organizers expect several hundred people to attend each rally.

Organizers shared their list of demands:

• Reunite families now. Permanently end family separation and immediately reunify those that have been separated.
• End family detention. Children and families deserve due process, not indefinite imprisonment. Children do not belong in baby cages and internment-like camps. Family incarceration is not the solution to family separation.
• End ‘Zero Tolerance.’ Reverse the Trump administration’s policy that created this crisis and chaos to begin with. Parents should not be criminally prosecuted for doing what all parents do, which is bring their children to safety. This horrible nightmare for families will only end when Trump permanently stops his 100% prosecution policy.

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