Kristen Bell, Amy Schumer, and so many other celebs are teaming up to help reunite families separated at the border
It has been more than a year since President Donald Trump called for an end to the separation of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border, yet, in reality, the practice has continued. In June, journalists reported that the detention centers housing migrant children without their parents had abhorrent conditions. The children were overcrowded, sick, and didn’t have access to basic hygiene. Now, in the wake of these reports, many celebrities have joined a campaign demanding that the government finally reunite separated families.
On July 28th, the organization Immigrant Families Together (IFT) launched its “Every. Last. One.” campaign to reunite separated families. According to the campaign’s website, IFT partners with legal, advocacy, service, and religious organizations to bring families together again. It also partners with Miles4Migrants to coordinate and pay for flights. IFT has been working toward this mission since June 2018.
IFT announced its new campaign with a video featuring 58 actors, performers, and celebrities. The star-studded list of supporters includes Kristen Bell, Amy Schumer, Billy Porter, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gloria Steinem, Lucy Liu, Sterling K. Brown, Abby Wambach, Rosario Dawson, Amber Tamblyn, Ingrid Michaelson, Clinton Kelly, and Daveed Diggs. In the video, they each look into the camera and say “Every last one.”
“We at Immigrant Families Together are making a commitment to every case of family separation at our border,” members of the organization say in the video.
"It has been more than a year since the Trump administration distanced itself from its own family separation policy, but the separations have continued," the campaign director, Meghan Finn, told People.com in a statement. "Too many families continue to be separated, and too many children are growing up traumatized and afraid, with no idea when or if they will ever see their loved ones again. This is beyond horrifying and has to stop immediately."
It’s not clear how many families have been separated under the Trump administration’s immigration policies. In January, The New York Timesreported that “thousands more” children had likely been separated from their parents than the previously reported 2,737. In April, the Times reported that it could take up to two years to identify all of the separated families.
With so many children still unaccounted for, we need to keep fighting to reunite families. Visit IFT’s website to learn how you can help and to read more about “Every. Last. One.”