US-Mexico Border Crossing: Hundreds of Demonstrations Held Over Regarding Border Crisis
Several hundred protests were held throughout the nation on Friday and Saturday regarding the influx of undocumented immigrant children fleeing their homes in Central America to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
The organizations American Legal Immigration Political Action Committee, Make Them Listen and Overpasses for America, which support stricter immigration policies, have spearheaded the majority of the protests scheduled for the weekend, according to Fox News Latino.
ALIPAC President Paul Gheen and the other organizers claimed that President Barack Obama's administration is to blame for the border crisis and argued it has neglected to secure the border.
"Our goal is to unify Americans of every race, political party and walk of life against this Obama-inspired invasion of our American homeland," Gheen told Mashable. They make more money this way, they have more control of the government this way – there's a constellation of power groups working to support the invasion of illegal immigration."
Protests were held throughout the country, including Florida and Washington state. On Friday members of the Pennsylvanians for Immigration Control and Enforcement held a demonstration outside the Mexican consulate in Philadelphia, a local CBS affiliate reported.
"The people have been silent for too long," said Margaret Adelsburger, a member of the PICE. "We've been invaded. It's a war."
A group advocating for more lenient treatment of the kids held a counterprotest a few feet away. Carmen Guerro, a Mexican immigrant, said: " We are not criminals, we are not bad people. We are just human beings."
Another protest in Iowa was held in the name of Louise Sollowin, who died at the age of 93 after being beaten and raped by an undocumented immigrant, according to Mashable.
The weekend's protests are a continuation of efforts from those who are calling for tighter border security and stricter policy as well as from groups advocating for leniency on the children.
Since the surge of undocumented immigrants who have overwhelmed detention centers in the nation's southern border states, the government has struggled to find temporary housing for them.
The Border Patrol has arrested 174,000 people entering through Texas' Rio Grande Valley since Oct. 1. In the same time, more than 50,000 unaccompanied minors have entered the U.S. and about 40,000 more are expected to enter this year.
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