Protesters rallied again Sunday to demand that the federal government find the thousands of migrant children who have been separated from their families at the border with Mexico.
The protesters gathered at the intersection of Route 110 and Jericho Turnpike included Patricia Okoumou, who climbed the Statue of Liberty last year in a protest against President Trump’s policy of splitting the families.
Dr. Eve Krief, a pediatrician who has organized previous rallies, said, “As a result of this administration’s misguided belief that somehow ripping children from their parents’ arms would make the most powerful country in the world safer, thousands of children have been forever traumatized.For the Department of Homeland Security to now say that is is not feasible to reunite these children and their parents is unacceptable.”
The federal government said in a recent court filing that it may not be “within the realm of the possible” to track down the children and reunite them with families.
Court Wing of Astoria who participated in the protest with his wife, Morgan Schulman, said, “We’re here to protest against the illegal detention of children seeking asylum,” he said. Wing added, “The Trump administration is lying, using a racist dogwhistle seeking to unite a very small segment of our national population into believing that they’re being put out of jobs and it’s just not the truth.”
“As a mother, my heart breaks. As a grandmother, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have my grandchild ripped from my arms,” said Maria LaMalfa of Smithtown.
The groups involved in Sunday’s rally include Immigrant Justice Now, Together We Will and Long Island Inclusive Communities Against Hate.
