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Raleigh events protest Trump immigration stance

At least two different rallies were held in Raleigh Wednesday amid outrage over a policy by the Trump Administration to detain and separate parents and their children who are attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.

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By
Sarah Krueger
, WRAL reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — At least two different rallies were held in Raleigh Wednesday amid outrage over a policy by the Trump Administration to detain and separate parents and their children who are attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.
Both events were planned before President Donald Trump signed an executive order that ended the separation of families by indefinitely detaining parents and children together at the border.

“We’re going to have strong, very strong borders, but we are going to keep the families together,” Trump said as he signed the order at his desk in the Oval Office. “I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated.”

Protesters in Raleigh on June 20, 2018 to demonstrate the Trump Administration's stance on immigration.

At 4:30 p.m., dozens of people gathered in downtown Raleigh for the Keep Families Together event that was held at Bicentennial Plaza and organized by the Carolina Peace Center. Religious leaders, lawyers and civic activists gathered to hear speakers and hold signs to protest the Trump immigration action.

After Trump signed the order, organizers said there is still work to be done on the immigration front, which is why the protest went on as planned.

"We as a people have a duty," said Faisal Khan of the Carolina Peace Center. "It's incumbent upon us as citizens of the United States to stand up and speak out and keep calling our legislators, keep writing them, keep visiting them and keep reinforcing it. Of course, we are only six months away from the election (and) that's also really important."

Organizers said they want the federal government to follow a more humane process for those trying to enter the country illegally, a process that includes not allowing children to be held in a detention center even if they are with their parents.

People gathered in Raleigh to protest the Trump Administration's stance on immigration.

The group also believes the process of seeking asylum should be more expedited.

Wednesday morning, dozens of people gathered at the Adams Building on the Dorothea Dix campus in Raleigh.

That event, organized by Church World Service, was also an attempt to raise awareness about the Trump Administration's separation policy.

"We don’t agree with policies that separate families at the border," said organizer Jennie Bell. "We don’t agree with policies that don’t allow refugees to come in."

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