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The California Report

PHOTOS: Bay Area Cities Join Nationwide ‘Families Belong Together’ Marches

KQED News Staff
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Tiana Romero came to Berkeley's rally with her parents Nora and Noe. (Carly Severn/KQED)

Nearly 30 demonstrations against the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy that has resulted in the separation and detention of thousands of families and children along the U.S.-Mexico border took place across the Bay Area on Saturday.

The marches were part of a national "Families Belong Together" day of action organized by the progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org. According to the organization's website, more than 700 rallies were scheduled to place nationwide on Saturday, including nearly 100 in California alone.

Tens of thousands of people turned out for rallies in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Santa Rosa, Vallejo and dozens of other Bay Area cities.

Dustin Ross (L) and Emily Claytor (R) both San Francisco residents, wait at Dolores Park to march in San Francisco's 'Families Belong Together' protest of family separation. Claytor says he doesn't have any concrete solutions for immigration reform, but he wants family separation to stop and the federal government to have more empathy.
Dustin Ross (L) and Emily Claytor (R) both San Francisco residents, wait at Dolores Park to march in San Francisco's 'Families Belong Together' protest of family separation. Claytor says he doesn't have any concrete solutions for immigration reform, but he wants family separation to stop and the federal government to have more empathy. (Sonja Hutson/KQED)

Demonstrators prepare to march from Dolores Park to San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza for the city's 'Families Belong Together' march.
Demonstrators prepare to march from Dolores Park to San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza for the city's 'Families Belong Together' march. (Sonja Hutson/KQED)
A contingent from the Yemeni Organization of Oakland marches in San Francisco's 'Families Belong Together' march. Spokesman Ameer Alkrizy says they're there to protest the Trump administration's travel ban, which targets five Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. 'What's happening at the southern border basically is the same thing happening to Yemenis. Children are being taken from their parents when they try to come in,' he says.
A contingent from the Yemeni Organization of Oakland marches in San Francisco's 'Families Belong Together' march. Spokesman Ameer Alkrizy says they're there to protest the Trump administration's travel ban, which targets five Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. 'What's happening at the southern border basically is the same thing happening to Yemenis. Children are being taken from their parents when they try to come in,' he says. (David Markus/KQED)
Sisters Zenab, Zahra and Warda Ali (L-R) at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in San Jose. "Legality isn’t always a matter of justice. It’s a matter of power. Apartheid was legal. The Holocaust was legal," Warda says.
Sisters Zenab, Zahra and Warda Ali (L-R) at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in San Jose. "Legality isn’t always a matter of justice. It’s a matter of power. Apartheid was legal. The Holocaust was legal," Warda says. (Rachael Myrow/KQED)
Lidia Doniz (R) and Erendira Ortega (L) at the San Jose 'Families Belong Together' rally. Doniz is originally from Guatemala, and she founded Movimiento Cosmico Indigenous Dance and Culture. 'Racist rhetoric should not inform policy,' she says. 'Politics aside, parties aside, when we start creating policies that are racist, we are back to the 1940s, when we took our Japanese brothers and sisters away and put them in camps.' Ortega adds, 'This is not the first time that families are separated, and we should learn from our history.'
Lidia Doniz (R) and Erendira Ortega (L) at the San Jose 'Families Belong Together' rally. Doniz is originally from Guatemala, and she founded Movimiento Cosmico Indigenous Dance and Culture. 'Racist rhetoric should not inform policy,' she says. 'Politics aside, parties aside, when we start creating policies that are racist, we are back to the 1940s, when we took our Japanese brothers and sisters away and put them in camps.' Ortega adds, 'This is not the first time that families are separated, and we should learn from our history.' (Rachael Myrow/KQED)
Elodie, age 7, and Jude, age 5, paint signs at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in Oakland.
Elodie, age 7, and Jude, age 5, paint signs at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in Oakland. (Nadine Sebai/KQED)
One marcher in San Francisco's 'Families Belong Together' march wears their sign.
One marcher in San Francisco's 'Families Belong Together' march wears their sign. (David Markus/KQED)

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A large crowd fills Lakeside Park in Oakland for a 'Families Belong Together' rally.
A large crowd fills Lakeside Park in Oakland for a 'Families Belong Together' rally. (Nadine Sebai/KQED)
Julee Sarmiento from San Bruno says without marches like this one in San Francisco and continued media attention, politicians don't have the momentum they need to change immigration laws. She hopes some reform will get passed soon.
Julee Sarmiento from San Bruno says without marches like this one in San Francisco and continued media attention, politicians don't have the momentum they need to change immigration laws. She hopes some reform will get passed soon. (Sonja Hutson/KQED)
Carolyn Weil and Michael McDowell at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in Berkeley.
Carolyn Weil and Michael McDowell at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in Berkeley. (Carly Severn/KQED)
Just two of the many signs being carried at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in Berkeley.
Just two of the many signs being carried at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in Berkeley. (Carly Severn/KQED)
“I think it just sucks the way they’re separating families, especially children. I can’t even imagine if that happened to us and our daughter, it’d be the most devastating thing ever,' says Chino Scott-Chung (L) with his wife Maya Scott-Chung (C) and daughter Luna (R) at the rally in Oakland. 'My grandfather was Chinese and came to San Francisco and went to Mexico because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. My dad came to Angel Island in a boat as a young boy trying to escape war-torn China. His parents had to buy documents so he could come here, and our family lost our ancestral history. We lost that part of our names, our identity. And our Mexican part of the family can visit, but can never immigrate here.'
“I think it just sucks the way they’re separating families, especially children. I can’t even imagine if that happened to us and our daughter, it’d be the most devastating thing ever,' says Chino Scott-Chung (L) with his wife Maya Scott-Chung (C) and daughter Luna (R) at the rally in Oakland. 'My grandfather was Chinese and came to San Francisco and went to Mexico because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. My dad came to Angel Island in a boat as a young boy trying to escape war-torn China. His parents had to buy documents so he could come here, and our family lost our ancestral history. We lost that part of our names, our identity. And our Mexican part of the family can visit, but can never immigrate here.' (Nastia Voynovskaya/KQED)
'My church, Saint Agnes in the Haight, was one of the first churches in the city to declare themselves a sanctuary church,' says Stacey Shaffer at the San Francisco rally. 'We’re sponsoring a family seeking asylum from domestic violence, so it touches people I know personally. That’s why I’m here.'
'My church, Saint Agnes in the Haight, was one of the first churches in the city to declare themselves a sanctuary church,' says Stacey Shaffer at the San Francisco rally. 'We’re sponsoring a family seeking asylum from domestic violence, so it touches people I know personally. That’s why I’m here.' (Gabe Meline/KQED)
Eileen Prendiville (L) and Annie Song-Hill (R) at the San Francisco Families Belong Together march in foil blankets reminiscent of those used by children in detention camps. 'These people are seeking asylum and we need to be humane in the way they’re treated,' Song-Hill says.
Eileen Prendiville (L) and Annie Song-Hill (R) at the San Francisco Families Belong Together march in foil blankets reminiscent of those used by children in detention camps. 'These people are seeking asylum and we need to be humane in the way they’re treated,' Song-Hill says. (Gabe Meline/KQED)
Barbara Baker (L) is in from Portland visiting her son in Oakland. I have friends at the ICE detention center in Portland. 'In a word: wrong,' she says.
Barbara Baker (L) is in from Portland visiting her son in Oakland. I have friends at the ICE detention center in Portland. 'In a word: wrong,' she says. (Nastia Voynovskaya/KQED)
Kids have a dance party at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in Oakland near Lake Merritt.
Kids have a dance party at the 'Families Belong Together' rally in Oakland near Lake Merritt. (Nastia Voynovskaya/KQED)
Tony Sweet at the rally in Oakland. Sweet says he crossed the border from Mexico with his family in the 1960s. He says border agents at the time told his mother, 'Welcome to America. We are here to help.'
Tony Sweet at the rally in Oakland. Sweet says he crossed the border from Mexico with his family in the 1960s. He says border agents at the time told his mother, 'Welcome to America. We are here to help.' (Nadine Sebai/KQED)
Manette Rene Bradford at the rally in San Francisco. “When I was working on my sign, I was thinking about the Mylar blankets I was using, and the contradiction between how cold the blankets were, and uncomfortable, in contrast with the idea of a blanket, which is supposed to be comforting and nurturing. And the experience of children in detention centers, and the trauma they must be experiencing that they’re going to carry with them their entire lives,' she says.
Manette Rene Bradford at the rally in San Francisco. “When I was working on my sign, I was thinking about the Mylar blankets I was using, and the contradiction between how cold the blankets were, and uncomfortable, in contrast with the idea of a blanket, which is supposed to be comforting and nurturing. And the experience of children in detention centers, and the trauma they must be experiencing that they’re going to carry with them their entire lives,' she says. (Gabe Meline/KQED)
'I’m sad because the kids have to leave their families and be taken away,' says 11-year-old Ava (L) at the rally in Oakland.
'I’m sad because the kids have to leave their families and be taken away,' says 11-year-old Ava (L) at the rally in Oakland. (Nastia Voynovskaya/KQED)
'We are larger than the people that believe that children should be separated from their parents,' says Jen Morrow at the San Jose rally. 'We are more numerous. We include people on the right, the left and the center. This is a basic human right that we’re standing for today.'
'We are larger than the people that believe that children should be separated from their parents,' says Jen Morrow at the San Jose rally. 'We are more numerous. We include people on the right, the left and the center. This is a basic human right that we’re standing for today.' (Rachael Myrow/KQED)

KQED's Sonja Hutson, David Markus, Gabe Meline, Rachael Myrow, Nadine Sebai, Carly Severn and Nastia Voynovskaya contributed to this report.

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This post has been updated.

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