Ask yourself: When and where do people separate mothers from their babies, toddlers, and children? Some answers quickly come to mind: on slave auction blocks, where Africans were seen as property to be bought and sold; on Native American reservations, when children were kidnapped and taken to boarding schools; inside the gates of German concentration camps, where people were seen as “vermin” requiring extermination.

The separation of mothers from their children is a prelude to literal and cultural genocide. For the Border Patrol to be enlisted to take children from their mothers tells us that those promulgating this policy see Latina mothers, Latino fathers, and their children through a racist lens: as unwanted, expendable, and not susceptible to the maternal-child norms for “white” people.

Imagine looking back on this chapter of American racism from the distance of 30 years. The bitter taste will remain in our mouths, just as the heartbreak and rightful rage will continue to be carried by those directly suffering this travesty. These single momentary acts of heartless separation at our border take generations to address. They cannot be healed. We must stand together and say “NO!”

Here are a few actions:

Use ActBlue’s page to donate to groups helping kids and their families who are immigrating to the United States or contact the organizations themselves: Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, ACLU, Women’s Refugee Commission, Human Rights First, United We Dream.

Call your elected officials to demand an end to the practice of separating families (you can reach Congress at 202-224-3121). The National Domestic Workers Alliance, the ACLU, and 5 Calls have scripts that you can use.

Sign the Women’s March petition demanding the end of the practice of separating families. The group plans to deliver it to Ivanka Trump.

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