Latino Community Foundation: Thousands Rally In SF To Protest Inhumane Border Detentions

SAN FRANCISCO, June 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, June 23, thousands of parents, community leaders, teachers, doctors, grandparents and neighbors gather at Embarcadero Plaza at 10am to send a strong message to the Trump administration's latest attack on Latino immigrant families: STOP.

More than 2300 children have been separated from their parents and kept in detention centers. President Trump signed an executive order on June 20 to end the separation of families at the border. However, the order directs Department of Homeland Security to detain families indefinitely, while their criminal proceedings and asylum cases are adjudicated.

"We must remain steady and focused until policies that criminalize families who lawfully seek asylum stop! We must stand guard to protect and defend our immigrant families as this administration tries to cover up its role in provoking this current crisis," said Olga Talamante, Co-Founder of the Chicana / Latina Foundation.

"This is a fight for the soul of our nation," said Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation. "The cries of our children remind us that our democracy—and the values and promises it has made—still long to be fulfilled. We are determined to end the criminalization of immigrant families. We are committed to guard the hope of the America we love."

Saturday's "SF Families Belong Together" rally is co-sponsored by the Women's March San Francisco, in partnership with the Latino Community Foundation, NAACP-SF, San Francisco Democratic Party, San Francisco Labor Council, The Interfaith Movement of Human Integrity, and other leading organizations. Speakers include Mayor-Elect London Breed, Rev. Amos Brown from NAACP, Lariza Cuadra-Dugan, CEO of CARECEN SF, as well as other faith and community leaders.

The long-term effects on the children experiencing this trauma were highlighted in a statement made by the San Francisco Marin Medical Society: "We are strongly opposed to this horrific policy. We know from studies that childhood traumatic events disrupt the natural development of a growing brain and body, increasing the lifetime risk for heart problems, cancer, diabetes and stroke. Early childhood trauma is not only detrimental to the child's health, but also for the entire family and community."

To see full list of supporters and speaker program, please visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/262173407853848/

Contact:
Monica Chinchilla
(415) 699-6750
[email protected]                   
Martha-  [email protected]

SOURCE Latino Community Foundation

Related Links

https://latinocf.org