Thousands Attend 'Families Belong Together' Rally In Austin

AUSTIN, TX — Thousands of people gathered at the Capitol grounds on Saturday to protest the Trump administration's so-called "zero tolerance" immigration policy — chiefly its hallmark tactic of separating children from their immigrant parents for detention elsewhere as a deterrent for future immigration.

Before the event, some 7,000 people confirmed they would be in attendance per the Facebook event page. Organizers of the rally — one of more than 750 that took place the same day across the country — estimated 10,000 people ended up going to the rally. The fountainhead rally took place at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. with hundreds more sister rallies throughout the U.S., including the Austin gathering that occurred from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The massive attendance at the Austin rally was made more impressive given the sweltering heat, with the high temperature hovering just under 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite those conditions, the spirited crowd — some standing near in front of the south Capitol steps where some two dozen speakers addressed the crowd while others sat on the lawn of the state grounds, listening from farther away under the shade of trees for protection from the sun. Watering stations were set up for the masses, as volunteers distributed free bottled waters to those gathered in need of hydration.

Since Trump's zero tolerance stance was implemented more than 2,300 children have been taken from their parents for separate detention in a move that has been widely condemned given its antithetical nature to the nation's ideals. Succumbing to massive outcry, Trump has since signed an executive order reversing his own policy, toward ending family separation.

Despite the reversal, many children are now in limbo — desperately needing legal assistance to gain their freedom from detention camps while traumatized in being separated from parents after a long and perilous journey from southern points of origin to reach the U.S. Some children have been literally torn from their mothers' clutches since the crackdown began, including infants separated from nursing mothers.

“There are still hundreds of families with no access to attorneys who have no idea when they’ll see their children,” Zenén Jaimes Pérez with the Texas Civil Rights Project said at Saturday’s rally. “When the cameras go away, politicians leave and start talking about something else. We need you with us.”

Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an Austin immigration attorney, suggested the current political climate is a rebuke of decades of American practice of welcoming refugees into the fold.

"For almost 70 years, our country has recognized its obligation to protect victims of persecution," Lincoln-Goldfinch said. "We require that asylum seekers be inside our border of our nation to apply for protection. They're not lawbreakers or gang members or violent criminals. They are refugees. They are fleeing violence and gangs."

The attorney noted that even after Trump's reversal and a subsequent court order to reunite families, thousands of children remain detained, apart from their parents. She relayed news of a bond rejection for one of her clients despite her previously establishing grounds for "credible fear" — a concept in US. asylum law whereby a person demonstrates he or she has a credible fear of returning to their home country. Establishing that status traditionally has made such refugees not subject to deportation until the person's asylum case has been processed.

"Last week, president Trump signed and executive order announcing an end to family separation, and yte my client, Nancy — who just passed her credible fear interview — was denied bond on Thursday and is still detained," Lincoln-Goldfinch said. "Families continue to be separated, and the administration prolongs separations despite having been ordered by a federal judge to reunify families within 30 days."

She urged those gathered to continue airing their outrage over current immigration policy: "The clock is ticking, and we are watching," she said to spontaneous cheers and applause from those gathered. "You must continue to raise your voices against family separation, but our battle does not end there."

The crowd gathered was diverse, representing a cross section along the demographic scale. There were young people there alongside older folks, equally energized and galvanized in opposition to Trump's policies.

Three friends arrived together to join the protest....

...while parodying the slogan on First Lady Melania Trump's Zara jacket during her first visit earlier this month to a Texas detention center for children that read " I really don't care, do u?"

Lauren Ashlee Wallace strikes a defiant pose while supporting immigrants' rights.

A child herself, Abby Fields, 14, said she was preparing to start summer camp before deciding to attend the rally beforehand.

Some chose shadier environs a bit further away from the main stage, letting their signs speak for themselves.

Some in the crowd carried signs calling for the dismantling of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency ("Abolish ICE" was a common sign sentiment), which some say seems more focused now on detaining toddlers and infants than a criminal element.

>>> Photos by Tony Cantú/Patch staff

From June 29:

AUSTIN, TX — Thousands of people are expected to attend the Austin "Families Belong Together" rally protesting the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents upon their arrival to the U.S. via the southern border.

Dozens of such rallies are scheduled throughout the country on Saturday, June 30 — 34 of those at Texas cities, including Austin. On the Facebook event page for the Austin version, 6,000 people have said they would be going to the march at the state Capitol while another 19,000 residents have expressed an interest in attending.

A well-attended — but decidedly more low-key than the ambitious gathering planned tomorrow — was staged on June 14 at the steps of the state Capitol. A spirited crowd was on hand to listen as speakers condemned the Trump immigration crackdown illustrated by a policy to separate children from their immigrant parents and place the minors in a detention camp as a stated deterrent against future immigration by others.

The policy has since been rescinded via executive order as federal officials now try to figure out how to go about reunited some 2,300 children with their parents. By some accounts, several of the children may never be able to reunite with their parents after being separated.

Patch was at the June 14 rally, and will be at Saturday's gathering as well. Attempts will be made to provide a Facebook Live feed from the Saturday, June 30, event that's scheduled to take place at the Texas Capitol, 1100 Congress Ave. from noon to 3 p.m.

Related stories:

Austin Activists Stage 'Families Belong Together' Protest

Rallies Near Dallas: Nationwide Protests Planned For June 30

If you go, you might take some bottled water and protection from the sun such as a hat or sunscreen as the high temperature is expected to reach 98 degrees with a heat index of about 102 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Volunteers typically set up a table from which to hand out free bottled water from ice chests at such rallies, but you might take you own just in case.

In Dallas, the gathering there is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in front of Dallas City Hall. The Houston rally begins at the same time, also outside the city hall there.

On their events page, organizers of the Austin rally described the purpose of the gathering:

"Trump and his administration have cruelly separated children from their families and are detaining them in environments harmful to their health and well-being. But we won't allow it to continue.On June 30, we’ll join with people rallying in Washington, D.C. and around the country to tell Donald Trump and his administration to end this cruel and inhumane zero tolerance policy, to stop dehumanizing immigrants and migrants, and to end family detention and separation.Do not be fooled by the executive action. While we hope it will slow the flow of new children being separated from their families at the border, it does nothing about the thousands children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement."

en español:

"Donald Trump y su administración han separado cruelmente a niños de sus familias y los están deteniendo en ambientes dañinos a su salud y a su bienestar. Pero nosotros no dejaremos que esto continué.El 30 de junio, nos uniremos a la gente manifestándose en Washington, D.C. y en el país para decirle a Donald Trump y a su administración que le ponga fin a la cruel e inhumana política de cero tolerancia, que le ponga fin a la deshumanización de inmigrantes y migrantes y a que le ponga fin a la detención y separación de familias.No se vean engañados con la orden ejecutiva. A pesar de que esperamos que reduzca el flujo de que nuevos niños sean separados de sus familias en la frontera, la orden no hace nada en cuanto a los miles de niños en la custodia de Office of Refugee Resettlement."

More information is available at the Families Belong Togetherwebsite, including a link for downloadable signs and posters.

Austin will hardly be alone in organizing a "Families Belong Together" rally. From Abilene to Wichita Falls, protests are planned against what many see as draconian policy as it relates immigration policy. Below is the list of Texas cities staging "Families Belong Together" rallies on Saturday, June 30. For the full list of cities staging rallies throughout the country (and a few cities outside the U.S.), click here.

• Abilene
• Alpine
• Amarillo
• Austin
• Brenham
• Brownsville
• Bryan
• Corpus Christi
• Dallas
• Decatur
• Deer Park
• Denton
• Edinburg
• El Paso
• Fort Worth
• Galveston
• Granbury
• Houston
• Kerrville
• Kingsville
• Laredo
• Liberty
• Longview
• Lubbock
• Lufkin
• McAllen
• McKinney
• Midland
• Nacogdoches
• Odessa
• Paris
• San Antonio
• Sherman
• Waco
• Wichita Falls

>>> Logos via "Families Belong Together." Photos by Tony Cantú/Patch staff