Hundreds in Hawaii rally for immigrants

Hundreds showed up at the state Capitol on Saturday to protest U.S. immigration policies and what they see as the cruel treatment of migrants seeking refuge.

They carried signs saying, “Diversity is a strength,” “Humankind, be both,” and “Immigrants have always made America great.”

The Families Belong Together rally in Honolulu was one of more than 700 held across the nation Saturday to protest President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy that separated thousands of migrant children from their parents after the families crossed the U.S. border.

Trump has backed away from family separations because of the uproar, but many marchers demanded a quick reunification of the families.

Sherry Alu Campagna, who is running against U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to represent Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district, said she put her campaign on hold to spearhead the rally.

Campagna, the former Hawaii chairwoman of the Women’s March on Washington, said Hawaii has a deep connection to the issue because it is a community of immigrants.

She said Saturday’s mass action shows that people will not tolerate Trump’s immigration policies and will stand up and vote.

She also advocated for abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

“If you lived before 2003, you lived in an America without ICE, and we can go to that again,” she said.

The president took to Twitter to show his support for ICE. Tweeting Saturday from New Jersey, Trump urged ICE agents to “not worry or lose your spirit” and wrote that “the radical left Dems want you out. Next it will be all police.”

In Honolulu, the demonstrators marched from the Capitol to the Prince Kuhio Federal Building and back. Along the way, a stream of protesters stretched up Punchbowl Street between Ala Moana Boulevard and King Street.

Damaris Santos-Palmer of Hauula, who had been an illegal immigrant in the 1990s, participated with her husband and three children, ages 12, 8 and 5.

She said her family illegally entered the U.S. when she was 6 to escape political unrest in Brazil. They lived in fear of being separated, and eventually returned to Brazil. Santos- Palmer later came back to the United States on a student visa and became a U.S. citizen.

She said her mother, who lives in Brazil, called her in tears when she heard about what was happening to families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Santos-Palmer, who studied undocumented mothers to earn her master’s degree in California, said she felt there would have been even more protesters if people understood what it was like being an illegal immigrant.

“They don’t know how tough it is to become legal in this country,” she said. “It’s so hard. It’s impossible if you are poor.”

She said the immigrants are not lazy, but doing their best to escape extreme situations in their home countries.

Amika Matteson, 14, marched with her friends, hoping their collective voices would be heard in Washington.

“This is a great injustice being done to all the children who are seeking asylum, and they should be let into the U.S.,” she said. “If anything, they should be allowed to stay with their families if they’re going to have to be deported.”

Her friend, 14-year-old Inez Anderson, said “seeking asylum is not a crime” and labeled Trump’s policy of separating children from their undocumented parents as inhumane.

Matteson added that she was disappointed with what has been happening under the Trump administration.

“What a time to be alive,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.