Protestors Stand With Refugees at U.S. Embassy

A crowd of demonstrators picketed the United States (U.S.) Embassy yesterday over the White House administration’s immigration policies.

The demonstration began at 4 p.m. and was organized by Amnesty International- Ireland (AII), the Irish branch of a global non-for-profit human rights organization. The embassy denied a letter from AII which was intended for U.S. President Donald Trump and his constituents. Protestors carried posters, signs and orchestrated chants to display their disapproval.

“He’s criminalizing parents who have fled from burning houses with their children,” said Director of AII, Colm O’Gorman. “People who are fleeing persecution from countries like Nicaragua and Honduras are not criminals, they are asylum seekers.”

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Back in April, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the administration would adopt a zero-tolerance policy with criminal illegal entry. As a result, some 2,000 children have been separated from their families and detained at the U.S. borders.

“Seeking asylum is a recognized human right and President Trump, and his administration, have an obligation under international law to protect, respect and fulfill that right, not to violate it,” O’Gorman said. “ It [the policy] is considered torture under international law.”

Although President Trump’s recent executive order ended the practice of separating families, it does not address the children who still remain in the states.

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“The tragedy is that it looks like some of these children may never be returned to their families,” O’Gorman said. “The [U.S.] administration didn’t even put together the logistical systems or structures to return these children in the end.”

Orla Mcalinden also attended the protest with her children and expressed her sympathy for the refugees.

“As Irish people we should understand the survival instinct that drives you to leave your home,” Mcalinden said. “You don’t force your children across the border at night unless the place you’re leaving is worse than the place you’re going.”

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