Crowds gathered outside the U.S. consulate in Calgary on Saturday to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
They held signs saying: “Hey Trump, separating families is illegal, cruel and immoral,” and: “Ban ignorance not immigrants.”
Many of the demonstrators were young parents who came with their children.
READ MORE: Rallies across Canada protest separation of children from families in U.S.
They added their voices to protests held across North America over the detention and separation of immigrant families.
New dad Craig Sprung was there with his wife and seven-month-old son.
“It’s really hard to see these kids separated from their parents.
“I had a moment where I was trying to put him to sleep and he was crying and I was thinking of all the parents that wouldn’t be able to put the kids to sleep at night because they been taken away,” Sprung said.
Ruth Bigler was there with her young children.
“I have kids and the sight and the thought of my kids being taken away just kills me,” Bigler said.
She was inspired to join the march because of time she spent with undocumented immigrants in California with her Calgary church group. Bigler said it gave her an appreciation for how hard immigrants struggle to give their kids a safe home.
“They worked so hard to get their kids there and to just take care of them. It’s just like anyone else.
“What would you not do to give your kids food and a safe place to sleep?
“I saw families living in garages, two families living in a tiny little garage but they are like: ‘I don’t care. We are here and our kids are going to school there getting an education and they’re going to have a better life here than what it would’ve been in Mexico or El Salvador,'” Bigler said.
“It was really eye-opening to me how much people were willing to sacrifice to give their kids a better life.”
READ MORE: Trump backs down on separating families, but migrant children still remain in custody
Protest organizers point to Canada’s history when it comes to separating Indigenous children from their families. They say it’s important to rally despite the recent executive order to end separation of families signed by U.S. President Trump.
“I think it’s about how we look at people of colour.
“We have a second-class citizenship with people of colour and with people who are immigrants and with people who are lower class. And I think we need to address the larger issue,” said Chantal Chagnon, Women March On Calgary spokesperson.
Diane Schwab said she was motivated to attend the protest by images she saw on TV of separated families. She says Canada has it’s own issues to deal with.
“I think we have some of the problems here absolutely. There’s people in this country that don’t like immigrants. I am second-generation Canadian. My family was welcomed into this country. But now immigrants are looked at much differently,” Schwab said.
READ MORE: Alberta government releases long-awaited anti-racism report
Those at the rally hope that by marching in Calgary they can send a message to policy makers about how they want newcomers to Canada treated.
“It’s going to tell our leaders that when stuff like that comes up, like what are we going to do with the people that are crossing the border into Canada? If they see that there is a lot of public push back against any kind of policy that separates families or de-humanizes these immigrants, I think we’re going to see better treatment here,” said Bigler.
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