May 30, 2018

Fighting back against the Trump administration's "vile" new policy of separating young migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, the ACLU is launching "Families Belong Together" rallies at immigration enforcement offices nationwide on Friday in an urgent effort to "end this practice for good."
"We don't want to live in a country that brutally separates young children from their parents. If the Trump administration's cruelty doesn't speak for you, show the world this Friday."
--ACLU
"The Trump administration is sending the clear message that immigrants aren't welcome here--and they don't mind sacrificing constitutional rights and basic human decency just to get that across," the ACLU wrote, urging supporters to sign a petition opposing the administration's policy. "They want to scare people away from coming to this country to seek a better life and aren't afraid to admit it. We have the power to change this cruel policy--if enough of us raise our voices."
In addition to publishing an action plan (pdf) that includes details on how to spread information about Friday's rallies on social media, the ACLU also provided an updated map of events taking place across the country.
\u201cWe don't want to live in a country that brutally separates young children from their parents. If the Trump administration's cruelty doesn't speak for you, show the world this Friday. #KeepFamiliesTogether https://t.co/zUpjLHjPpZ\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1527702888
\u201cFRIDAY: Join the National Day of Action to oppose Trump's policy of tearing immigrant families apart.\n\nJoin an event in your community and remind the president that #FamiliesBelongTogether: https://t.co/kLdWXvl3dU\u201d— ACLU People Power (@ACLU People Power) 1527620458
According to the Trump administration's own figures, over 700 children were reportedly separated from their parents between October 2017 and April 2018--before the Department of Homeland Security's new policy officially took effect earlier this month.
"Make no mistake: This new policy is vicious, brutal and is nothing less than Trump administration-endorsed, U.S. government-sanctioned child abuse."
--Maria Cardona, political commentator
"The federal government has not released figures from May, but those who work on immigration cases have observed a large increase in the number of children affected" by the new policy, as NBC News reported last week.
"It doesn't matter how young the child, how terrible their situation, or how unnecessary their separation," the ACLU noted. "They have one goal in mind: to warn immigrants not to come here, or else they might lose their children."
As Common Dreams reported, ACLU documents published last week detailed the appalling treatment of detained migrant children during the Obama administration and clearly demonstrated that "pervasive abuse" of immigrants didn't begin with President Donald Trump.
But Trump appears deadset on doing everything he can to make an already cruel system even more inhumane, and advocacy groups are hoping Friday's rallies will help call attention to these often overlooked policies and build a grassroots movement strong enough to bring them down for good.
\u201cOn Friday, we are rallying across the country to demand that @DHSgov end its cruel practice of separating children from their parents.\n\nJoin an event near you and help #KeepFamiliesTogether:\nhttps://t.co/kLdWXvl3dU\u201d— ACLU People Power (@ACLU People Power) 1527706530
"Make no mistake: This new policy is vicious, brutal and is nothing less than Trump administration-endorsed, U.S. government-sanctioned child abuse," concluded political strategist and commentator Maria Cardona in an op-ed for The Hill on Tuesday.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Our Summer Campaign is now underway, and there’s never been a more urgent time for Common Dreams to be as vigilant as possible. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Fighting back against the Trump administration's "vile" new policy of separating young migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, the ACLU is launching "Families Belong Together" rallies at immigration enforcement offices nationwide on Friday in an urgent effort to "end this practice for good."
"We don't want to live in a country that brutally separates young children from their parents. If the Trump administration's cruelty doesn't speak for you, show the world this Friday."
--ACLU
"The Trump administration is sending the clear message that immigrants aren't welcome here--and they don't mind sacrificing constitutional rights and basic human decency just to get that across," the ACLU wrote, urging supporters to sign a petition opposing the administration's policy. "They want to scare people away from coming to this country to seek a better life and aren't afraid to admit it. We have the power to change this cruel policy--if enough of us raise our voices."
In addition to publishing an action plan (pdf) that includes details on how to spread information about Friday's rallies on social media, the ACLU also provided an updated map of events taking place across the country.
\u201cWe don't want to live in a country that brutally separates young children from their parents. If the Trump administration's cruelty doesn't speak for you, show the world this Friday. #KeepFamiliesTogether https://t.co/zUpjLHjPpZ\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1527702888
\u201cFRIDAY: Join the National Day of Action to oppose Trump's policy of tearing immigrant families apart.\n\nJoin an event in your community and remind the president that #FamiliesBelongTogether: https://t.co/kLdWXvl3dU\u201d— ACLU People Power (@ACLU People Power) 1527620458
According to the Trump administration's own figures, over 700 children were reportedly separated from their parents between October 2017 and April 2018--before the Department of Homeland Security's new policy officially took effect earlier this month.
"Make no mistake: This new policy is vicious, brutal and is nothing less than Trump administration-endorsed, U.S. government-sanctioned child abuse."
--Maria Cardona, political commentator
"The federal government has not released figures from May, but those who work on immigration cases have observed a large increase in the number of children affected" by the new policy, as NBC News reported last week.
"It doesn't matter how young the child, how terrible their situation, or how unnecessary their separation," the ACLU noted. "They have one goal in mind: to warn immigrants not to come here, or else they might lose their children."
As Common Dreams reported, ACLU documents published last week detailed the appalling treatment of detained migrant children during the Obama administration and clearly demonstrated that "pervasive abuse" of immigrants didn't begin with President Donald Trump.
But Trump appears deadset on doing everything he can to make an already cruel system even more inhumane, and advocacy groups are hoping Friday's rallies will help call attention to these often overlooked policies and build a grassroots movement strong enough to bring them down for good.
\u201cOn Friday, we are rallying across the country to demand that @DHSgov end its cruel practice of separating children from their parents.\n\nJoin an event near you and help #KeepFamiliesTogether:\nhttps://t.co/kLdWXvl3dU\u201d— ACLU People Power (@ACLU People Power) 1527706530
"Make no mistake: This new policy is vicious, brutal and is nothing less than Trump administration-endorsed, U.S. government-sanctioned child abuse," concluded political strategist and commentator Maria Cardona in an op-ed for The Hill on Tuesday.
Fighting back against the Trump administration's "vile" new policy of separating young migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, the ACLU is launching "Families Belong Together" rallies at immigration enforcement offices nationwide on Friday in an urgent effort to "end this practice for good."
"We don't want to live in a country that brutally separates young children from their parents. If the Trump administration's cruelty doesn't speak for you, show the world this Friday."
--ACLU
"The Trump administration is sending the clear message that immigrants aren't welcome here--and they don't mind sacrificing constitutional rights and basic human decency just to get that across," the ACLU wrote, urging supporters to sign a petition opposing the administration's policy. "They want to scare people away from coming to this country to seek a better life and aren't afraid to admit it. We have the power to change this cruel policy--if enough of us raise our voices."
In addition to publishing an action plan (pdf) that includes details on how to spread information about Friday's rallies on social media, the ACLU also provided an updated map of events taking place across the country.
\u201cWe don't want to live in a country that brutally separates young children from their parents. If the Trump administration's cruelty doesn't speak for you, show the world this Friday. #KeepFamiliesTogether https://t.co/zUpjLHjPpZ\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1527702888
\u201cFRIDAY: Join the National Day of Action to oppose Trump's policy of tearing immigrant families apart.\n\nJoin an event in your community and remind the president that #FamiliesBelongTogether: https://t.co/kLdWXvl3dU\u201d— ACLU People Power (@ACLU People Power) 1527620458
According to the Trump administration's own figures, over 700 children were reportedly separated from their parents between October 2017 and April 2018--before the Department of Homeland Security's new policy officially took effect earlier this month.
"Make no mistake: This new policy is vicious, brutal and is nothing less than Trump administration-endorsed, U.S. government-sanctioned child abuse."
--Maria Cardona, political commentator
"The federal government has not released figures from May, but those who work on immigration cases have observed a large increase in the number of children affected" by the new policy, as NBC News reported last week.
"It doesn't matter how young the child, how terrible their situation, or how unnecessary their separation," the ACLU noted. "They have one goal in mind: to warn immigrants not to come here, or else they might lose their children."
As Common Dreams reported, ACLU documents published last week detailed the appalling treatment of detained migrant children during the Obama administration and clearly demonstrated that "pervasive abuse" of immigrants didn't begin with President Donald Trump.
But Trump appears deadset on doing everything he can to make an already cruel system even more inhumane, and advocacy groups are hoping Friday's rallies will help call attention to these often overlooked policies and build a grassroots movement strong enough to bring them down for good.
\u201cOn Friday, we are rallying across the country to demand that @DHSgov end its cruel practice of separating children from their parents.\n\nJoin an event near you and help #KeepFamiliesTogether:\nhttps://t.co/kLdWXvl3dU\u201d— ACLU People Power (@ACLU People Power) 1527706530
"Make no mistake: This new policy is vicious, brutal and is nothing less than Trump administration-endorsed, U.S. government-sanctioned child abuse," concluded political strategist and commentator Maria Cardona in an op-ed for The Hill on Tuesday.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
LATEST NEWS
Entire UN Security Council Except US Says Gaza Famine 'Man-Made' as 10 More People Starve to Death
While acknowledging that "hunger is a real issue in Gaza," the US ambassador to the UN repeated a debunked claim that the world's leading authority on starvation lowered its standards to declare a famine.
Aug 27, 2025
Every member nation of the United Nations Security Council except the United States on Wednesday affirmed that Israel's engineered famine in Gaza is "man-made" as 10 more Palestinians died of starvation amid what UN experts warned is a worsening crisis.
Fourteen of the 15 Security Council members issued a joint statement calling for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, and lifting of all Israeli restrictions on aid delivery into the embattled strip, where hundreds of Palestinians have died from starvation and hundreds of thousands more are starving.
"Famine in Gaza must be stopped immediately," they said. "Time is of the essence. The humanitarian emergency must be addressed without delay and Israel must reverse course."
"We express our profound alarm and distress at the IPC data on Gaza, published last Friday. It clearly and unequivocally confirms famine," the statement said, referring to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification's declaration of Phase 5, or a famine "catastrophe," in the strip.
"We trust the IPC's work and methodology," the 14 countries declared. "This is the first time famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region. Every day, more persons are dying as a result of malnutrition, many of them children."
"This is a man-made crisis," the statement stresses. "The use of starvation as a weapon of war is clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law."
Israel, which is facing a genocide case at the UN's International Court of Justice, denies the existence of famine in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are wanted by the International Court of Justice for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder and forced starvation.
The 14 countries issuing the joint statement are: Algeria, China, Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, and the United Kingdom.
While acknowledging that "hunger is a real issue in Gaza and that there are significant humanitarian needs which must be met," US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea rejected the resolution and the IPC's findings.
"We can only solve problems with credibility and integrity," Shea told the Security Council. "Unfortunately, the recent report from the IPC doesn't pass the test on either."
Shea also repeated the debunked claim that the IPC's "normal standards were changed for [the IPC famine] declaration."
The Security Council's affirmation that the Gaza famine is man-made mirrors the findings of food experts who have accused Israel of orchestrating a carefully planned campaign of mass starvation in the strip.
The UN Palestinian Rights Bureau and UN humanitarian officials also warned Wednesday that the famine in Gaza is "only getting worse."
"Over half a million people currently face starvation, destitution, and death," the humanitarian experts said. "By the end of September, that number could exceed 640,000."
"Failure to act now will have irreversible consequences," they added.
Wednesday's UN actions came as Israel intensified Operation Gideon's Chariots 2, the campaign to conquer, occupy, and ethnically cleanse around 1 million Palestinians from Gaza, possibly into a reportedly proposed concentration camp that would be built over the ruins of the southern city of Rafah.
The Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) on Wednesday reported 10 more Palestinian deaths "due to famine and malnutrition" over the past 24 hours, including two children, bringing the number of famine victims to at least 313, 119 of them children.
All told, Israel's 691-day assault and siege on Gaza has left at least 230,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing, according to the GHM.
Israeli Government Social Media Urges Europe to 'Remove' Muslims
"What would the reaction would be if an Arab state wrote this about synagogues and Jews?" asked one critic.
Aug 27, 2025
Israel faced backlash this week after its Arabic-language account on the social media site X published a message warning Europeans to take action against the proliferation of mosques and "remove" Muslims from their countries.
"In the year 1980, there were only fewer than a hundred mosques in Europe. As for today, there are more than 20,000 mosques. This is the true face of colonization," posted Israel, a settler-colonial state whose nearly 2 million Muslim citizens face widespread discrimination, and where Palestinians in the illegally occupied territories live under an apartheid regime.
"This is what is happening while Europe is oblivious and does not care about the danger," the post continues. "And the danger does not lie in the existence of mosques in and of themselves, for freedom of worship is one of the basic human rights, and every person has the right to believe and worship his Lord."
"The problem lies in the contents that are taught in some of these mosques, and they are not limited to piety and good deeds, but rather focus on encouraging escalating violence in the streets of Europe, and spreading hatred for the other and even for those who host them in their countries, and inciting against them instead of teaching love, harmony, and peace," Israel added. "Europe must wake up and remove this fifth column."
Referring to the far-right Alternative for Germany party, Berlin-based journalist James Jackson replied on X that "even the AfD don't tweet, 'Europe must wake up and remove this fifth column' over a map of mosques."
Other social media users called Israel's post "racist" and "Islamophobic," while some highlighted the stark contrast between the way Palestinians and Israelis treat Christian people and institutions.
Others noted that some of the map's fearmongering figures misleadingly showing a large number of mosques indicate countries whose populations are predominantly or significantly Muslim.
"Russia has 8,000 mosques? Who would've known a country with millions of Muslim Central Asians and Caucasians would need so many!" said one X user.
Israel's post came amid growing international outrage over its 691-day assault and siege on Gaza, which has left more than 230,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing and hundreds of thousands more starving and facing ethnic cleansing as Operation Gideon's Chariots 2—a campaign to conquer, occupy, and "cleanse" the strip—ramps up amid a growing engineered famine that has already killed hundreds of people.
Israel is facing an ongoing genocide case at the International Court of Justice, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister, are fugitives form the International Criminal Court, where they are wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder and forced starvation.
European nations including Belgium, Ireland, and Spain are supporting the South Africa-led ICJ genocide case against Israel. Since October 2023, European countries including Belgium, France, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, and Spain have either formally recognized Palestinian statehood or announced their intention to do so.
'Evil': Critics Recoil as Trump DHS Moves to Bar Disaster Aid for Undocumented Immigrants
"This is unfathomable discrimination against immigrants that will cost our country lives," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
Aug 27, 2025
The Trump administration is reportedly putting new restrictions on nonprofit organizations that would bar them from helping undocumented immigrants affected by natural disasters.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is "now barring states and volunteer groups that receive government funds from helping undocumented immigrants" while also requiring these groups "to cooperate with immigration officials and enforcement operations."
Documents obtained by the paper reveal that all volunteer groups that receive government money to help in the wake of disasters must not "operate any program that benefits illegal immigrants or incentivizes illegal immigration." What's more, the groups are prohibited from "harboring, concealing, or shielding from detection illegal aliens" and must "provide access to detainees, such as when an immigration officer seeks to interview a person who might be a removable alien."
The order pertains to faith-based aid groups such as the Salvation Army and Red Cross that are normally on the front lines building shelters and providing assistance during disasters.
Scott Robinson, an emergency management expert who teaches at Arizona State University, told The Washington Post that there is no historical precedent for requiring disaster victims to prove proof of their legal status before receiving assistance.
"The notion that the federal government would use these operations for surveillance is entirely new territory," he said.
Many critics were quick to attack the administration for threatening to punish nonprofit groups that help undocumented immigrants during natural disasters.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) lashed out at the decision to bar certain people from receiving assistance during humanitarian emergencies.
"When disaster hits, we cannot only help those with certain legal status," she wrote in a social media post. "We have an obligation to help every single person in need. This is unfathomable discrimination against immigrants that will cost our country lives."
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said that restrictions on faith-based groups such as the Salvation Army amounted to a violation of their First Amendment rights.
"Arguably the most anti-religious administration in history," he wrote. "Just nakedly hostile to those who wish to practice their faith."
Bloomberg columnist Erika Smith labeled the new DHS policy "truly cruel and crazy—even for this administration."
Author Charles Fishman also labeled the new policy "crazy" and said it looks like the Trump administration is "trying to crush even charity."
Catherine Rampell, a former columnist at The Washington Post, simply described the new DHS policy as "evil."
Most Popular
Together, we can defend the truth when it’s under siege.
Your support powers the fearless, independent reporting that democracy depends on.