Demonstrators led rallies and protests to decry the separation of immigrant parents from their children by US border authorities, while Democratic lawmakers said they aren't convinced the Trump administration has any real plan to reunite them.
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Hundreds of people rallied near a Homestead, Florida, facility where immigrant children are being held. Demonstrators marched in San Diego carrying signs reading "Free the Kids" and "Keep Families Together" and in other California cities.
Outside a Border Patrol processing facility in McAllen, Texas, protesters carrying American flags temporarily blocked a bus carrying immigrants and shouted "Shame! Shame!" at border agents.
"Something has to be done," said Gabriel Rosales, the League of United Latin American Citizens' national vice president for the southwest. "This is not something that's OK in America today. And ours is to show those kids that they have people here in the United States that care."
The demonstrations came days after the Trump administration reversed course in the face of public and political outrage and had authorities stop separating immigrant families caught crossing the US-Mexico border.
In recent weeks, more than 2,300 children were taken from their families under a "zero-tolerance" policy in which people entering the US illegally face prosecution. While the family separations were ended, confusion has ensued, with parents left searching for their children.
The administration says it will now seek to detain immigrant families during their immigration proceedings, which has also stoked an outcry.
Department of Homeland Security spokesman Tyler Houlton issued a statement that criticized protests in Portland, Oregon, against immigration enforcement activities that closed federal immigration offices there this week, but did not address the other demonstrations occurring around the country Saturday.
Evelyn Stauffer, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said her agency is trying to help reunite families or place unaccompanied immigrant children with an appropriate sponsor.
In Florida, Argentine immigrant Maria Bilbao said she joined the protest because she came to the country 17 years ago with her then-9-year-old son and understands the fear of being separated from a child.
"What is happening in this country is disgusting," said Bilbao, who worked as a cleaning woman before becoming a legal resident and now works for an immigrant rights group. "They should be letting people go to the outside so they can work and contribute to this country."
More protests are planned for next weekend in states from Connecticut to California.
A group of 25 Democratic lawmakers who toured the border processing facility in McAllen, Texas, said they hadn't seen a clear federal system for reuniting those who were split up. Everyone - even infants - is assigned "A" or alien numbers, only to be given different identification numbers by other federal agencies.
They described seeing children sleeping behind bars, on concrete floors and under emergency "mylar" heat-resistant blankets.
"There are still thousands of children who are out there right now untethered to their parents and no coherent system to fix that," Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democrat from Connecticut, told reporters after the tour.
Australian Associated Press