Merida, Yucatan — Dozens of protesters gathered on the sidewalk across from the U.S. Consulate with signs to protest conditions in immigrant detention facilities — or concentration camps, as they called them.
The demonstration was one 700 “Lights for Liberty” events organized across five continents.
The local demonstration, attracting many American residents in Yucatan, included shouts of “close the camps!” One sign read “I live in Mexico, I vote in _______.” Their individual home state filled in the blank.
Other signs referred to a “holocaust” and “concentration camps” to describe the U.S. policy on migrants at the border. At least one sign, “Deport Trump to the Hague,” referred to the city where war criminals are tried.
Foreign residents have been warned against participating in political protests, but this issue involves their country of origin.
Local media came to cover the event, which was publicized on Facebook by a U.S. citizen living in Yucatan.
Organizers of global “Lights for Liberty” demonstration “demand action from Congress to end concentration camps and impeach the President,” according to the group’s website.
At least 30,000 immigrants are being detained in the United States, and that is just in the five states with the highest numbers, according Freedom for Immigrants, an advocacy organization.
Criticism is growing over the conditions at the camps. United Nations’ human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said the family separation and inhumane conditions in the facilities “should never happen anywhere.”
With information from USA Today
