Panel held to discuss solutions for separated immigrant families
The East West Alliance hosted a “Family Integrity Forum” Saturday in response to the recent separation of immigrant families.
The event featured a panel of speakers, each with a unique perspective on recent immigration policy. The panel included ACLU members, attorneys, family therapists and immigrants. Lynne O’Neill and Michael Milan, the organizers of the event, say they wanted to create a cathartic forum where people could learn more about immigration policy, what resources are available to those affected, and how people can help.
According to organizers, the forum was an effort to “support family integrity and California values, in the face of inhumanity and forced separation of children of parents at the border.”
The first part of the forum focused on exploring the emotional and developmental impact of family separations on parents and their children. The second part focused on continued efforts by various groups to help impacted families.
“I think for folks who want to get involved and help the most important thing is to check the local organizations that exist in your region to see what kinds of needs they might have. If it’s money, if it’s time, if it’s translators, if it’s attorneys or social workers…and you can go to organizations like the ACLU, planned parenthood, NAACP, and check your own local chapters,” said Eva Bitran, a Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Southern California.
Luis Nolasco, an undocumented citizen and ACLU advocate say the fight to help immigrants needs to be a collective effort in the community. “We’ve seen that the turning point for those social movements is when people who are not affected by those issues, get involved and step up,” he said.
The event was held at Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City. The group is planning to host another informational event in the fall, in Indio. “We’re going to be posting a resource page on our Facebook page for the East West Alliance. We’re working with various attorneys throughout the valley to compile that. And I think if people turn off their T.V.s and their computers and come to events like this, which are conversational in nature, it makes for a better sense of connectedness,” said event organizer Lynne O’Neill.
