More than 200 people attended a Lights for Liberty Vigil on Friday night in Beaufort in protest of U.S. detention camps along the sou
thern border.
The demonstration was part of a worldwide effort held in objection of the inhumane conditions faced by migrants.
The local effort was organized by the League of Women Voters Beaufort, Indivisible Beaufort and others.
Catherine Forester, president of Beaufort’s League, said she was especially moved by the cruel actions toward the children of refugees.
“We held a vigil to bring awareness to the deplorable action of the U.S. upon individuals fleeing their countries and coming to the U.S. for help,” she said. “These are children, and we have created a humanitarian crisis. We continue to disregard our own children and now we are inflicting the same neglect and unfathomable treatment to other’s children.
“Once again enough is enough. This administration has no plan to deal with this crisis nor does it look like they want to create a plan.”
A news release from the Lights for Liberty organization stated the event was intended to bring thousands of Americans to detention camps across the country, into the streets and into their own front yards, to protest the inhumane conditions faced by asylum seekers.
The release said outraged people from around the country and the world planned to shine a light on the horrific abuses of the Trump administration in human detention camps.
Speakers included George Kanuck from Lowcountry Immigration Coalition, Pastor Roy Tripp from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Port Royal, and Rabbi TZiPi Radonsky. A march followed with participants shining flashlights and cellphones in a demonstration of solidarity and sympathy for those suffering in U.S. immigration camps.
“We must not use our children as political pawns,” Forrester said.
The event in Beaufort was covered nationally by NPR.
