(CNN) An organization pushing back against the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant families was holding rallies Thursday in cities across the United States.

The rallies are organized by Families Belong Together , or Familias Unidas No Divididas, in cities such as Washington, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. At least 60 cities were holding events Thursday, the group said.

"We oppose the cruel, inhumane and unjustified separation of children from their families along the US border and other points of entry," the organization says in promoting the rallies.

Rallies took place in 60 cities, from New York, shown here, to California.

"The mothers and fathers are beside themselves with pain, and suffering, and guilt that they weren't able to protect their children," Eugene resident Bernadette Borurassa said.

Demonstrators in Washington gathered near the US Capitol.

At the rally in the nation's capital, demonstrators chanted: "We see you. We love you. We need you here."

Darylle Sheehan said she went to the rally because she believes there is no reason to take the children from their parents.

"These people have no voice and I feel it's a moral imperative to speak for them and bring attention to their living hell," she said, adding, "This was the least I could do."

One person at the rally in Miramar, Florida, carried a sign that said: "What would you do if it were your child?"

In Cleveland, people heard briefly from speakers then marched to the federal courthouse. "Together, united. We'll never be divided," they chanted.

People line up outside Parkview Field with signs directed at US Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

There was also a protest in Fort Wayne, Indiana, outside an event where Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke about immigration policies.

"We're not pro-illegal. What we are is anti-child abuse. We don't want children taken from their families under the guise of some government policy," Linda Mills told CNN affiliate WFFT

The rallies have also been promoted by MoveOn.org , the progressive advocacy group, as well as celebrities such as Lin-Manuel Miranda and Debra Messing

Anna Tarkov, the national spokeswoman for Families Belong Together, said she expected thousands to participate.

"We're all volunteers doing this in our spare time, but the passion and dedication of everyone involved in this has just been amazing," she said.

The rallies come as the Trump administration has decided to refer for federal prosecution anyone who crosses into the United States illegally, a more aggressive stance than previous administrations have taken. The change means that adults coming across the border with children will be separated as the parents await their criminal proceedings.

The move has already led to a rise in the number of children separated from their parents at the border. Since the policy was announced in May, some 500 children have been separated from their parents, according to Miguel A. Nogueras, an assistant federal public defender for the Southern District of Texas in McAllen.

In one case, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras was breastfeeding her daughter when the government took her daughter away. When the mother resisted, she was put in handcuffs, according to Natalia Cornelio, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project.

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"So, if you cross the border unlawfully, even a first offense, we're going to prosecute you," Sessions told a gathering of the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies. "If you're smuggling a child, we're going to prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you, probably, as required by law.

"If you don't want your child to be separated, then don't bring them across the border illegally," he said.

Shannon Heesacker McClain, the national coordinator for Families Belong Together, said that keeping families together should not even be a partisan issue.

"If you think that family values are important, at the top of that list is just the basic right of the family to be together," she said. "I really think that everybody should be able to get behind this message that these families belong together and they shouldn't be separated in this way."