Ivanka Trump Got Called Out By Protesters On Family Separations & It's Serious
It's July 10, people, and there are still migrant children who were separated under President Donald Trump's now-abandoned "zero tolerance" policy and have yet to be reunited with their families. Frankly, it's pretty upsetting, but I'm far from the only person who's bothered by it. Apparently, so many people are fed up with the entire situation that protesters confronted Ivanka Trump over family separations.
According to Newsweek, the confrontation occurred on July 9, when Trump was visiting a school in Syracuse, New York for a roundtable discussion on workforce development programs. Around 100 protesters gathered outside the Institute of Technology at Central High School, voicing their frustrations at the Trump administration's treatment of migrant children who have been separated from their families after illegally crossing into the United States' southern border. As Trump's motorcade passed by the crowd, they reportedly chanted "Shame!" and "What about the children?" Others held signs that said things like “No kids in cages,” and "What if it were your children?" while another protester dressed up as Donald with a “monster” sign dangling around his neck.
Protesters also called out Republican Rep. John Katko of New York, who was with Trump for the meeting, as shown in multiple photos shared to social media.
The protest came just a day after it was revealed that the Trump administration wouldn't meet its July 10 deadline to reunite migrant families. The deadline required that 102 migrant children under age 5 who were separated from their guardians be reunited with their families, following Donald's executive order that ended the process of family separations. However, officials have apparently encountered a slew of challenges that have slowed down the reunification process, including 18 parents who the government has already deported or released, parents who are in custody awaiting prosecution, and parents who have criminal records that prohibit them from immediately claiming their children. Even so, the government has been subject to strong criticism for its failure to meet the deadline.
When it comes to Trump, though, people might be particularly upset because she has been disturbingly quiet throughout the ongoing crisis at the border — despite all of the outrage surrounding it. In fact, the first daughter hadn't publicly opened up about the separation of migrant families until June 20, following her father's announcement of the border executive order. Trump sent out a simple tweet that read:
Thank you @POTUS for taking critical action ending family separation at our border. Congress must now act + find a lasting solution that is consistent with our shared values;the same values that so many come here seeking as they endeavor to create a better life for their families
But for many people, her tweet was a little too late.
Some users pointed out that it was Donald and his administration who started the highly-controversial separation policy to begin with.
ABC's The View host Meghan McCain also called out the first daughter for her passive approach to the separation problem during an episode on June 19. She said:
Where is Ivanka in all of this? Because she is all for women and mothers, and she has a White House role, and a job. I’m sort of interested that her whole platform has been women and mothers and she doesn’t seem to have anything to say about this.
...Don't mind me, I'm just over here starting a slow clap.
Clearly, this backlash might not slow down for a while, considering Trump's continued silence, and her father's struggles to reunite migrant families. But TBH, they really might wanna get a move on things ASAP, because — evidently — people are truly fed up with how this process going. And I can't say that I blame them.
