Chicago rally protests Trump's border policies
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Hundreds protested Donald Trump's border policies on Saturday in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood.
After the Keep Families Together Rally, protesters marched through the streets chanting "Release the children now" after recent reports that migrant children were being separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Sen Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, attended the rally and painted a dark picture.
"For those of you who are parents and grandparents, imagine for a moment being separated from a child who is 5 or 6 years old," Durbin said.
That is a picture that's all too real for Guatemalan immigrant who is now a U.S. resident, Norma Jauregui. She initially had to leave her young children back home when she entered the US in 1973. Now, she can't imagine her children - or grandchildren - being taken away.
"I have nightmares that my grandchildren will be taken away that they don't have food," Jauregui said.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday ending the practice of separating families at the border, but U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat who represents Illinois' 5th District, said that much of the damage had already been done.
"Bottom line, the president of the United States has orphaned thousands of kids. No executive order is going to change this," Quigley said.
Speakers Saturday morning urged residents to voice their concerns with their votes and asked the children in the audience to consider writing encouraging notes to immigrant children being housed in shelters.
Theresa Moulton, a mother of three young children, said it was important for them to participate.
"It's important for them to understand that our voice counts and that we need to vote and we need to get involved in local and national issues as well," Moulton said.
