Thousands of protesters marched against Trump's border policies in more than 700 rallies across the US

Ellen Cranley

Jul 1, 2018, 02:05 IST

Thousands of protesters marched against Trump's border policies in more than 700 rallies across the US

Protests against President Donald Trump's immigration policy took place in over 700 cities across the country on Saturday.
Demonstrators called upon the Trump administration to reunite the immigrant families it separated, and to stop trying to detain asylum-seeking families.
The marches came one day after hundreds of women were arrested after they occupied a Senate building to protest immigrant family separations by the US government.

Thousands marched on Saturday in over 700 rallies planned across the United States against President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy.

The flagship march, Families Belong Together, took place across the street from the White House in Washington, DC.

The Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy led to the separation of thousands of families at the US-Mexico border, prompting critics such as the United Nations Human Rights chief to call it "government-sanctioned child abuse."

Though Trump signed an executive order last week halting the separations, the crisis is far from over. In recent days, lawyers and government officials have faced significant challenges in locating and reuniting the families of more than 2,000 children who were separated and sent to shelters and foster families across the country.

On top of its zero-tolerance policy, Trump administration is also overhauling the asylum process, restricting the amount of eligible asylum-seekers by disqualifying domestic or gang violence as qualifying factors in obtaining asylum.

Saturday's marches came one day after hundreds of women were arrested after they occupied a Senate building to protest family separations.

See how they unfolded across the country:

Protestors gathered in Washington DC's Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House for the flagship march Saturday morning.

Though Trump was in New Jersey for the day, the National Parks Service said organizers expected 50,000 people to attend Saturday's rally.

The event's website says one of the march's priorities is to demand for the Trump administration to reunite the thousands of immigrant children who have been separated from their parents since the "zero tolerance" policy was first implemented.

The rally was livestreamed over Facebook as activists, faith leaders, and celebrities took the stage to urge the crowd to act against the policy.

Protesters in New York City first gathered at a courthouse in Lower Manhattan before crossing the Brooklyn Bridge.

More than 30,000 people turned out in Trump's hometown to march from Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge, chanting, "immigrants built this bridge."

Many protesters brought their children to make a point about the family separation policy.

Once they reached the city's Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters, protesters yelled "shame" at the building.

During the march, Mayor Bill de Blasio called New York City "the ultimate city of immigrants."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts joined protesters in Boston one day after she cheered on the hundreds of female protesters who occupied a Senate building. Warren told the crowd officials should look to replace ICE with "something that reflects our morality."

The marches come more than a week after first lady Melania Trump was widely criticized after she flew to an immigration detention center in Texas last week, wearing a coat that said "I really don't care, do u?" before she boarded her flight. Several protesters on Saturday carried signs or wore clothing that reflected the controversy.

Here, Sirley Paixao, whose ten-year-old son Diego was separated from her by US immigration officials on May 24, cries while talking to reporters before the rally in Boston.

Thousands gathered in front of the statehouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, where a model cage and children's shoes were laid out by protesters. Other marches across the state also took place in Bloomington, Evansville, Fort Wayne and South Bend.

In the border state of New Mexico, advocacy groups said they expected roughly 5,000 people to gather in Albuquerque.

The marches drew a number of celebrity appearances including Lin-Manuel Miranda and America Ferrera, who both took the stage at the Washington, DC, march.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is singing a lullaby for children separated from their parents pic.twitter.com/csctFNjR5T

— Meg Wagner (@megwagner) June 30, 2018

America Ferrera reads a letter from a grandfather fighting to sponsor his granddaughter: "I want you to imagine that this is your child, that you are this grandfather." (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/Dk0wlGPMjD

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 30, 2018

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