‘Release the children’: protests erupt over immigration policies nationwide

Protests and rallies around the country have been focusing on the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexico boarder.

When journalists toured one of the holding facilities this week, they were shown a massive operation where over 1,300 unaccompanied minors were being held in Homestead, Florida.

According to officials, 70 of those kids were separated from their parents at the boarder, and it was those same children who took center stage at Sen. Bill Nelson’s press conference Saturday.

“The 70 that are here, the 2,300 that are across the country—when are they going to be reunited? We don’t think there is a policy to the contrary. The only good thing that we found out is that most of these here are communicating by telephone with their parents,” Nelson said after touring the facility.

President Trump issued an executive order Wednesday to end the family separations at the boarder, but promised to stay tough on immigration.

“If they see any sign of weakness, they will come by the millions. We have to have strong border,” he said.

But the question remains, how does the country go about reuniting families already separated?

Immigration attorney Daniel Garza says it’s a tough course of action, but one that is still possible.

“Essentially those children were separated from their families as they were crossing the border. So the government should know where those parents are. If they are really trying to reunite them, then they should know where those parents are,” he said.

But Garza also believes it will be a process that won’t begin any time soon.

“I don’t think they’re ready to do that in the sense that they probably weren’t ready for this outrage to begin with,” Garza said.

Federal officials say the kids at the Homestead facility are given two 10 minute phone calls per week. They also say most of the kids who were separated are in contact with their parents, and reunification is being done on a case by case basis.