On June 30, hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets across all 50 states in “Families Belong Together” protests, a response to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance policy,” which, before June 20, separated migrant parents from children who crossed the U.S. border.
But, that gathering is just the beginning of the story.
The real story began months ago when thousands of people fled their homes in Central America for the U.S. The caravan walked for days on end in the hopes of making it to the United States. Their mission, at the time, was clear: Seek help and shelter. Historically, migrants fleeing Central America did so for economic reasons, as The Atlantic points out: “Central Americans have tended to migrate for economic reasons. Since the end of the internal armed conflicts in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua—which together displaced almost 2 million people in the 1970s and 1980s—thousands of Central Americans travelled to the U.S. to escape economic misery in their war-torn states.” In recent years, the tide has shifted from poverty to violence.
Shortly after their arrival to the border, the caravan’s plan was quickly thwarted by President Donald Trump and his administration. Rather than let asylum-seekers in to seek due process, the administration instead moved to create a “zero tolerance policy” for all immigrants attempting to cross the border. And that policy, as the world now knows, meant separating children from their families as they entered the United States.
Upon hearing their stories—and instead of sitting idly by as mothers, fathers, and children were ripped apart—a group of women from around the nation were quietly banding together to amplify their voices. Just weeks ago, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D. Wash.); Anna Galland, Executive Director at MoveOn; Jessica Morales Rocketto, Political Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and many more, were calling, texting, emailing and gathering to plan what was to become the “Families Belong Together” March.
As they explained to Glamour in this behind-the-scenes look at planning such a huge demonstration, the woman worked long nights, sacrificing time with their own families to make sure the vulnerable were protected. It appeared their efforts paid off when more than 700 protests took part in cities and towns across the country to protest the zero-tolerance policy.
In their own words, the women behind the march explained to Glamour how their work came together, their motivation and just how far the nation has to go to bring families together and enact lasting immigration reform.
PHOTO: MARK RALSTON
A child holds a poster at a “Families Belong Together” march.
Of course, it all started when the women heard the news that families were being separated at the border. Like many Americans, Galland, along with Rep. Jayapal, learned about the separations by hearing it on the news.
“I couldn’t even trace it back because it feels like it was so shocking,” Galland explained. “I’m a mom. I have three young kids—twins that are going into second grade and a two year old. I heard the reports and I saw those early photos of kids crying and I thought, ‘what would it feel like if my child was ripped out of my arms by the country when I was seeking refuge? What would it feel like?’ It’s unthinkable. And that shock, that visceral horror, put so many of us in motion for the first time.”
For Rep. Jayapal, those images pushed her to action after hearing more than 200 immigrants had been transferred from the Texas border to the federal prison, just south of Seattle.
“I spoke to all 174 women who were in the federal prison being held there. It was absolutely heartbreaking,” she said. “They wept, they couldn’t stop crying when they talked about how their children had been taken away from them. Children as young as one year old. They were talking about the way in which they were deceived and told that their kids were going to be there, that they were just going to go to get a photograph taken, but they came back and their kids were not there.”
Jayapal noted how the women were often subjected to days without water, heat or a clean place to live while in custody. And, perhaps most disturbingly, how they had no way of contacting their children.
“I think that this has been just a horrendous moment for us as a country to come to terms with the fact that we’re putting children in cages and locking up parents in prisons and separating children from their families. I think it’s far beyond politics,” Jayapal said. “It’s just about right and wrong.”
The Congresswoman knew she had to act. And she wasn’t alone.
PHOTO: Getty Images
Activists, politicians and actors march in the Families Belong Together Rally In Washington DC, organized by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, MoveOn, National Domestic Workers Alliance, And Hundreds Of Allies.
“We just basically canceled all of our weekend plans and a group of entirely women — I should say majority immigrant women and women of color — hashed out ideas,” Galland noted.
The women, she said, had many questions to answer quickly.
“Could we pull off a small event in Washington a couple of days later? What was possible? What was the energy out there to do it? As organizers, you’re always asking, what is there an appetite for right now,” she said. “By Sunday morning, I was ready to say look, I think the appetite for this is enormous. I think everyone in the country is ready to be heard to say no, we won’t be like this as a country and we’re going to pull off protests and we’re going to have them everywhere.”
For Morales Rocketto, Saturday was just the latest of a long string of marches against family separations.
“June 3, we had 30 events all around the country against the separation. June 14th, we had 78 events around the country and then [Saturday] we had 788,” she explained. “I remember picking the date. I remember thinking, is that enough time. We took the leap of faith.”
PHOTO: Getty Images
Protest signs at the “Families Belong Together” demonstration on June 30.
“The demand of the march is very simple. We’re calling for families to be reunited. There’s still thousands of children who we know there is not a clear and credible plan to reunite them with their families,” Galland said.
All the women recognize that Trump did bend to the public pressure once, signing an executive order ending family separation. But that, they explained, isn’t nearly enough. The demands and needs for the march evolved after Trump’s declaration that he would not separate families, as more than a couple thousand children are still without their parents.
“It’s a sham executive order because it does not solve the problem or reunite the kids that have already been separated—about 2,700 kids. On top of that, it doesn’t end the zero tolerance policy and it allows for indefinite family imprisonment,” Jayapal said. “That’s not an answer to this. We are calling for an end to the zero tolerance, zero humanity policy and an immediate reuniting of these kids with their parents. And then, allowing the parents to pursue their asylum claims, which they have every right to do under our due process laws, but also under the international convention of refugees.”
Days later, the protest might be over, but the work is far from done. According to Jayapal, it’s key the nation keeps the temperature high on representatives.
“We have to keep the pressure up to say to Republicans in Congress, you need to speak out. You cannot go home. You can’t go to church on Sunday or to synagogue or wherever you go and say that you are doing good things if you allow this to continue in our name. That is not OK,” she said.
Morales Rocketto explained, beyond politicians, it’s time to get companies on record, too.
“We absolutely have to make sure that we are holding companies accountable who are profiting off baby cages and family jails,” she said.
Moreover, Galland noted, the country simply has to keep on pushing forward and showing up for the causes they believe in.
“The reality is, we need to stay in motion, keep showing up. It’s important for us to be seen,” she said. “You have to see other people, physically see them, not just through your social media feed. So keep showing up, keep speaking out both because it affects our politics and also because it will feed your own morale in an era where staying engaged is a political necessity.”
