Over $20M Is Being Raised To Help Reunite Separated Families In The US

In late June, 2018, a campaign launched by three Facebook employees became a massively viral sensation, that raised over $20 million to help reunite families separated at the border by U.S. immigration officials.

Now, the organization that received those funds is putting them to use to try and free every single mother currently in detention.

On July 10, the nonprofit Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), that provides legal support as well as advice to incoming immigrant families, all held an event in Washington, DC., in which they offered to the Department of Homeland Security a $20-million check to cover the bond expenses of over 2,500 mothers currently being held in detention.

"We will write every single individual bond check," RAICES Executive Director Jonathan Ryan said. "The administration's actions have already put a moral stain on the United States, and failure to accept this bond check will only delay and put reunification at risk."

The offer came on the exact same day that the federal government missed a court-mandated deadline to reunite kids below the age of five with their families.

Thank you @DefineAmerican for all the support to make today happen. We’ll continue this fight, together. #ReuniteEveryChild https://t.co/CIZNdXnIGs

— RAICES (@RAICESTEXAS) July 11, 2018

Yet, the action citizens and RAICES have taken is an excellent example of how everyday people move into action and have a direct impact.

The $20 million raised is astonishing — it is the largest fundraising campaign in Facebook history. However, the votes and voices of millions of donors might speak even louder than the cash they offered.

As RAICES said in a statement, yet while they as well as those backing them obviously are against the White House regarding this issue, they presented the $20 million check as a big opportunity for President Donald Trump to "make a deal" — reuniting separated families while still enforcing the law.

"Trump says he's a deal-maker, here's his chance to cut a deal,” the group said on Twitter.

Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.

The family separation crisis is not over, but this is more proof that common people are making a huge difference.

Watching the unfolding crisis at the border can be very emotionally exhausting, but that is why groups like RAICES are so significant. They're advocates for the families themselves — but also the amplified voice of those speaking out against the policy of family separation.

Moments like that show that every voice does count.

Image: RAICES Texas/Twitter.

Reference: Upworthy