Women hold interfaith rally in DC to protest separation of families along US border
WASHINGTON - Nearly 200 women demonstrated against the separation of families along the U.S. border during a protest Tuesday outside of the Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The demonstration brought together women of different faiths who sang protest songs and demanded an end to President Trump's "zero tolerance" approach to illegal border crossings.
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Top conservatives, including key Trump allies, announced they were introducing bills to stop the practice.
Under the current policy, all unlawful crossings are referred for prosecution -- a process that moves adults to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and sends many children to facilities run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Under the Obama administration, such families were usually referred for civil deportation proceedings, not requiring separation.
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Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period in April and May.
Organizers of the demonstration say over 5,000 women of faith have signed an open letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen demanding a stop to family separation.
The Associated Press contributed to this article