5 ways you can help stop Trump’s cruelty to migrant families TODAY

First, SHARE THIS INFORMATION. Print it out. Share it on social media. Forward it far and wide. The only way we will stop Trump’s cruelty is by our constant, loud action.

Right now, families are being detained at the U.S.-Mexico Border, children are being held in makeshift shelters, and asylum seekers are being incarcerated. We cannot afford to stay silent. This is a critical time for stopping the Trump administration’s assault on migrants and asylum-seekers.

In April, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the United States would implement a “zero tolerance” policy, criminally prosecuting any migrant or asylum seeker who crosses the border outside of designated ports of entry. As a result, thousands of children have been separated from their guardians with no clear plan to reunite them. The Trump administration is now pursuing policies to keep families in detention until their asylum cases are processed—a practice that would essentially replace the cruelty of family separation with indefinite detention. Meanwhile, multiple reports confirm that migrant families presenting themselves at the designated ports of entry are being denied the opportunity to apply for asylum.

Here’s what you can do to stop this now:

1. Call the White House: (202) 456-1111

Tell President Trump to end the “zero tolerance” policy that is locking up asylum-seeking families and undermining their right to asylum. Trump could stop this policy, right now. Instead, he is using the mass suffering of violence-fleeing migrants as leverage to move forward a hardline, anti-immigrant agenda. Children and families are paying the price.

2. Call Congress: (202) 224-3121

Tell your Member of Congress to support the “Keep Families Together Act.”

The “Keep Families Together Act,” S. 3036, and a corresponding House version  introduced by Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), are “clean” bills that protect the right to asylum and make it illegal to separate families except in extreme circumstances. 

3. Speak out against detention facilities that are in your area:

Separated families are being held in facilities around the country. Are you near one? Demand to know what’s happening there. Constant, vocal, and visible outrage is critical right now. That’s what the media covers. Make sure they see that we will not stop fighting.

• Implementing this “zero tolerance” policy is overwhelming existing facilities. The Trump administration is expanding locations, including military bases, to detain children and families. Parents who have been separated from their children are in federal prisons and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities—many of them run by private corporations—all around the country.

4. Get educated:

WOLA experts Maureen Meyer and Adam Isacson recently returned from a trip to Yuma and Nogales, Arizona—a part of the U.S.-Mexico border that has seen a significant increase in apprehensions of families and unaccompanied children but has received less visibility than south Texas.

• Check out WOLA’s Facebook Live and podcast where Adam and Maureen describe the major findings of their trip and what they saw in terms of how “zero tolerance” is playing out on the ground.
• Read and share WOLA’s Beyond the Wall tools and resources: fact sheets and social media tool kits.

5. Donate to WOLA and share WOLA’s fundraising campaign on Facebook:

• Donate now to help WOLA halt the Trump administration’s assault on migrants and asylum-seekers.

This is a critical time to take action. Call the White House and Congress, share the stories of families being affected by these practices, and follow along with WOLA to stay informed.