On June 14, 2019, Trump’s Birthday, activists from “Rise and Resist” protested the Trump’s administrations’ cruel and inhumane immigration policies in front of Trump International Hotel and Tower in Columbus Circle in Manhattan. The protest also included a cage from the #NoKidsInCages campaign by Badger & Winters. The installation depicts a crying immigrant child in a cage, and multiple cages had been placed all over New York City this week.
On Thursday, Elizabeth McLaughlin, CEO of Gaia Project Consulting, tweeted about the experience of a legal advocate who volunteers inside Border Patrol facilities. According to her, refugees are brought to a facility titled “The Dog Pound,” which allegedly is comprised of outside cages without any protection from the elements. Young mothers are forced to sleep in those cages with their babies. The facility does not have running water and doesn’t protect from the cold at night nor from the heat during the day. The mothers who are dehydrated and sick from the long journey are trying to breastfeed their toddlers because they only receive infant formula instead of solid food. (For the full thread, go here https://twitter.com/ECMcLaughlin/status/1139192167501484033 )
Activists from “Rise and Resist” used Trump’s birthday as an opportunity to call attention to the cruelties committed by the current administration. Since April of this year, three immigrants have died in U.S. custody.
