Protesters rally in Santa Cruz over family border separations

Protesters in Santa Cruz gathered in front of City Hall to give their dissent to the separation of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, a result of President Donald Trump’s zero tolerance policy that has sparked national outrage.

“This is something that we’ve done as a country since day one and as my sign says, this is an American tradition of separating families,” said Heather Peterson, a Santa Cruz resident.

Protesters are calling this the “Families Belong Together” march and rally. They are demanding the government reunite families and end family detention.

“The thought of eight months old crying in a strange place is absolutely appalling and horrifying,” said Peterson.

“It’s despicable. It deserves hatred and contempt, it’s just a horrible thing to do,” said Bruce Dsmith, a Santa Cruz County resident.

A protest they say that is aimed directly at the president.

“I’d like to see Donald Trump go away, but I don’t know how to do that right now,” said Dsmith.

The parade ended on Cooper Street at the Museum of Art and History. There was a rally as well. By some estimates, there were about 2,500 people there.

President Trump did sign an executive order last week directing families stay together if caught at the border, but many families already split remain apart.

A federal judge ordered the administration to reunite them within 30 days. There is a 14 day deadline if the children are under 5 years old.

Some protestors told KION this is not enough.

“They’re still putting them in prisons. They’re asylum seekers. We have rules and laws that say people that are refugees and have been harassed by their own government can come to this country and seek refuge,” said Mary Ann Clare, a Scotts Valley resident.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, there are more than 2,000 children still separated from their parents.