Faith leaders and activists to protest family separation Saturday

Spokane faith and community leaders will be among those participating in a “Families Belong Together” demonstrations Saturday, part of a nation-wide rally to encourage constituents to contact their representatives and show solidarity for those impacted by recent changes to immigration policy at the United States’ southern border.

Master of Ceremonies Jan Shannon said the rally, which is from 1-2 p.m. at Grant Park in Spokane, is an outlet for the community to express its moral outrage or grief over the treatment of undocumented immigrant families and channel it toward change.

“This touches everybody at every level,” she said. “This is a moral crisis in how we treat each other.”

Lili Navarrete, a volunteer coordinator at Planned Parenthood and manager for RAIZ, said her goal for the rally was to offer accurate information about immigration, the legality of family separation and the traumatic psychological impact it can have on children.

Navarrete, who was once undocumented and is now a naturalized citizen, said that Spokane isn’t always a welcoming place for people of color and immigrants, so she wants to ensure that the rally is a safe place for those affected by immigration policies to ask questions and raise concerns.

Her daughter will speak at the event, along with other members of her organization.

Shannon said that, during the rally, attendees will contact their local representatives or senators through an app called ResistBot, which converts text from a mobile device into a fax statement.

She added that National Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning and representatives from community and professional organizations such as the NAACP and The Spokane Coalition of Color will also attend. Shannon said that leaders from Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian and other religious or spiritual organizations will read a statement dubbing family separation immoral.

Shannon said the rally was not only an opportunity for the community to turn their outrage into action, but a chance for organizations and those affected by changing immigration policies to network and plan future events.

“I imagine this is going to the first of many,” she said.