DETROIT – Hundreds of families gathered Thursday night at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Detroit to call for an end to deportations that separate families.
Related: Rallies protesting immigrant family separations taking place across US
Attendees said they are outraged by a new zero tolerance border policy under which immigrant children are being separated from their parents at the border.
"We're paying our taxes to fund these detention centers instead of allowing these families to go and be with their families," rally attendee Sandra Gatan said.
Many at the rally were marching for personal reasons. Gabriela Santiago-Romero came to the United States when she was about 1 year old. She said it took about 10 years and thousands of dollars for her to get her citizenship.
"It came out as a complete surprise," Santiago-Romero said of the new immigration policies. "None of us were ready for it and it came with three deportations all at once."