Take Action: 5 Ways to Fight Family Separation

With each passing day, stories of the horrors experienced by families separated at the border — of children torn from their parents and housed in cages — continue to grow.

Here are five concrete ways you can take action to fight Trump’s cruel and inhumane “zero tolerance” and family separation policies.

1. Donate to organizations on the ground

Slate pulled together a long list of organizations fighting Trump’s separation of immigrant families. Two Texas-based organizations working on the ground in the state to provide legal aid to families are featured: RAICES and the Texas Civil Rights Project.

Other Texas organizations that are working directly with people affected by this crisis include: Neta, South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.

2. Call your representatives

All 49 Senate Democrats have signed on to a bill that would end Trump's policy of kidnapping immigrant children at the border — the Keep Families Together Act. While other Republican proposals would tie ending this policy to other items on their immigration agenda — like funding a border wall and further militarizing border communities.

Call your representatives in Congress — US Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, and your US House Representative — and let them know you support passage of clean legislation that prohibits the Trump administration from separating families at the border and detaining children.

Click here to find out who represents you and how to contact them.

3. Volunteer your time

Informed Immigrant created a searchable resource to find immigration service organizations near you. Check out the websites of organizations in your community, give them a call or send them an email — connect and see if and how you can volunteer.

RAICES is hosting a National Immigration Support webinar on June 21 on how to support immigrants in your community who have recently been released from detention.

4. Make your voice heard

Stay outraged. Take to the streets. Talk to your family, friends, and coworkers. Be vocal on social media to let other people know that you care about this issue. Many people who also care are more willing to come forward when they see that their family and friends are concerned too.

Publicly resist Trump’s cruel immigration policies and the proliferation of immigration detention centers in Texas. These actions send a message that this is unacceptable.

Share the actions you’re taking with your friends and family — and encourage them to join you.

Upcoming rallies:

5. Vote, vote, vote

We have a really important midterm election coming up in November — Republican politicians up and down your ballot have expressed their support for Trump’s inhumane and immoral zero tolerance and family separation policies. Vote for candidates who are committed to fundamentally reforming our unjust and broken immigration system.