A crowd cheers during a rally Saturday at the downtown square in Fayetteville. The rally in Fayetteville is one of hundreds of rallies planned as part of a Families Belong Together national day of action to protest President Donald Trump's administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy. Advocacy groups such as MoveOn, the Human Rights Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union have joined in, and at least 130 rallies in 48 states are planned. - Photo by Charlie Kaijo

FAYETTEVILLE -- Hundreds of Northwest Arkansas residents joined tens of thousands nationwide Saturday in Families Belong Together rallies in protest against the separation of immigrant children from their families.

Speakers and organizers outside of the Fayetteville Town Center directly spoke against the Trump administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy and demanded the quick reunification of families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.

More than 2,300 children were taken from their families in recent weeks under the policy under which those who enter the U.S. illegally are prosecuted.

After public outcry earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at halting family separations at the border. However, more than 2,000 children still remain separated from their parents.

Speaker Tiffany Deerinwater said the United States has a long history of separating indigenous families. Her grandparents were forcibly taken to native boarding schools, she said.

"This traumatic experience changed the way they lived their lives, changed the way they raised their children, changed the way they thought about themselves and who they were," Deerinwater said. "It's still happening today, and I'll call it what it is: genocide."

The legal definition of genocide includes "forcibly transferring children of the group to another group," according to Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.

The Fayetteville speakers also called for local law enforcement to stop participating in the 287(g) program.

The 287(g) program, one of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's top partnership initiatives, allows a state or local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement to have immigration enforcement authority within their jurisdictions, according to ICE's website.

Washington and Benton county are the only two counties in Arkansas who have signed 287(g) agreements.

Fayetteville resident Peg Coffey said, "So this -- parents and children being separated -- is happening right here too. So that's why I'm here."

Fayetteville mayor Lioneld Jordan said at the rally he had directed Fayetteville police not to be drafted into the program.

"I stand firm in saying no to separating immigrant children from their families," Jordan said. "Every American should be outraged at the treatment of these children. Now is the time to let our voices be heard."

Speaker Amanda Aristondo, is the pastor for Hispanic congregants at Church of the Nazarene in Bentonville, mother of two and has lived illegally in Arkansas since 2001. Aristondo is from Guatemala, in which the threat of violent crime is rated "critical" by the U.S. State Department.

"I remember the first time we went at night to Walmart and we said 'Wow, we can do this and feel comfortable and safe.' Something we couldn't do in our country," Aristondo said through a translator. "To be able to come here and feel safe and see all the opportunities we could have for our children. You'd do whatever you could for your children, right? Like you, we all want the best for our community and to see our children be successful and dream."

Blanca Estevez, co-organizer of Fayetteville's rally, is from El Salvador and said what is happening locally and nationally to immigrants does not seem new to her.

"We have always been treated differently," she said. "It seems like it is going to get worse before it gets better unless every gets off the sidelines."

What is different is more people do seem shaken up, Estevez said.

About 67 percent of Americans thought separating undocumented immigrant children and parents at the border "unacceptable," according to a June 18 CBS News poll.

Karen McClard came to the rally as part of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville.

"My belief is, as people of God, we are called to respect the dignity of every human being," McClard said. "Respecting the dignity of every human being means that you show up and you speak out. I grew up believing this country was a place were people could come and make a better life for themselves and that there was liberty and justice for all, and as those things continue to fade, in my opinion, I have to stand up."

Photo by Charlie Kaijo

Megan Hansen of Siloam Springs holds signs during a rally Saturday at the downtown square in Fayetteville. “It’s about encouraging people who feel the same way we do but don’t think we can change anything,” she said for why she attended the event.

NW News on 07/01/2018