Hundreds Gather For 'Keep Families Together' March Downtown
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Hundreds gathered in downtown Los Angeles Thursday evening for a "Keep Families Together" rally and march.
KCAL9's Chris Holmstrom spoke to protesters about the event.
They carried signs and got vocal.
"Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go," they chanted.
Similar protests were held in at least 60 cities across the country.
"We are marching to end the abuse and exploitation of children who are simply trying to cross the border for a better life with their families," said marcher Angela Saucedo.
The protests are in response to the Trump administrations zero tolerance policy. In fact, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he's hoping the policy will serve as a deterrent to those trying to cross the border illegally.
"It's horrifying, it's like a visceral horror I can't imagine having my child taken from me, not knowing where she is, not knowing if she's safe is horrible," said Anne-Marie Kinney.
Since the zero tolerance policy was announced in May, as many as 500 children have been separated from their parents at the border. Some of the children have been sent to detention centers.
"When they come here and they get separated from the only people they know it's a traumatic experience and not only that it's unnecessary," says marcher Luna Hernandez.
The marchers said they will continue to fight what they think is an unjust and disgusting practice.
"What we have to do is call ICE and we demand that the human rights of asylum seekers and undocumented people are honored because we are not seeing that right now," says Karla Estrada.
The march lasted a couple of hours. It ended at the Federal building. Organizers told Holmstrom the fight is far from over.