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Councilmember Van Bramer Organizes Protest Against Family Separation

June 21, 2018 By Tara Law

Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer is organizing a rally in Woodside Monday to protest the Trump administration’s separation of immigrant children from their families.

The “March Against Family Separation” will congregate near St. Sebastian’s Roman Catholic Church at 58-02 Roosevelt Ave. at 7 p.m.

The protest aims to condemn the administration’s policy of taking children who illegally cross the border away from their parents. Although the president signed an executive order to end the practice on Wednesday, it is uncertain when and whether the 2,300 children held in detention facilities will be reunited with their parents.

Van Bramer said that he is holding the march as a means to let the immigrant and refugee community know that they are welcome in Queens.

Van Bramer said that he urges anyone who is disturbed by Trump’s immigration policies to attend the march.

“When this is all over, people will ask ‘what did you do,’ and ‘were you a part of the resistance?’” said Van Bramer.

Van Bramer said that he attended the protest at LaGuardia Airport late Wednesday night and that it cemented his desire to help mobilize the community.

Van Bramer learned at 10:30 p.m. that evening that protesters were gathering at the airport to condemn Trump’s policy and to support a group of immigrant children who were being moved to a detention center.

He joined a group of several hundred protesters gathered at the airport from about 11:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. The experience, he said, both saddened him and made him feel inspired.

“It is really easy to lose faith right now— certainly in our government,” said Van Bramer. “The thing is, there are a lot of really good people who care [about the children], who are willing to put themselves on the line.”

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11 Comments

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Anonymous

What a disgrace. Why is this country so interested in supporting illegal immigrants over its own citizens?

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Tommy O

Truth- Typical Fox News propaganda. You can post all the propaganda you want it still doesn’t change the fact until you start punishing the treasonous companies ( Trump said it’s an invasion) illegals will continue to come. Welcome to Trumps dog and pony show.

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Luis Nieves

I agree, Dont separate families, send the wife and kids with the father. Its his responsibility . throw them all out . I had to become legal, so should everyone else

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Tommy O

Tony- Maybe you should read the article you attached. The program involved teens crossing the boarder alone, to quote the article “Mexicans younger than 18 — teenagers often hired or conscripted by drug cartels that knew they would not be prosecuted if caught.” also to quote the article “We haven’t heard of any mistreatment,” said Erasmo R. Martinez, Mexico’s consul in McAllen, Tex. The program. The patrol calculates that just 7 percent of the children who have gone through the program have been picked up again crossing the border.” Just another example of a successful policy and program created by a competent administration, and misused and abused by the Trump administration. Taking children accompanied by parents while illegally crossing, putting children in cages and the seizing of “tender age children” were never apart of the original program or even mentioned in the article you provided. Your disingenuous post is typical of a deceitful and corrupt administration. Nice try.

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Tommy O

Anonymous – Because the program wasn’t being used to abuse dehumanize human beings. The Mexicans even supported the program in its original form “We haven’t heard of any mistreatment,” said Erasmo R. Martinez, Mexico’s consul in McAllen, Tex. The program. Trump equals incompetency,cruelty and hate.

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Anonymous

of course right in front of the church — the church has been harboring illegals for years and years –

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