SIGN NOW: We need to protect families from Trump's dangerous immigration policies.

John,

I went to San Antonio, Texas to see the effects of Trump's cruel family separation and detention policies for myself.

Because of Trump's executive orders, families fleeing their home countries are sent to dangerous, unsanitary shelters and camps in Mexico until a judge decides whether or not they can stay in the United States. But these cases aren't even heard in person -- families have to share their stories to judges over video call.

Imagine having to plead for the safety of your family and children -- over a shoddy video call to a judge who can't even clearly see your face.

SIGN NOW: Tell your member of Congress to protect families by overturning Trump's evil asylum policy.

I went to the courthouse in San Antonio to watch as these judges called into the tent courts at the border and saw firsthand how cruel and unconstitutional they are.

I would have rather gone to the sham tent courts themselves -- but they don't let the public in.

What I saw haunts me.

In the courtroom, the TV showed families lined up in hard chairs, rows and rows, including children, waiting for the judge to listen to their stories and decide whether or not they would be welcome in America. It was hard to hear between the two rooms, and each family only got a very short amount of time with the judge.

Only one case that day had an attorney -- and he wasn't able to get in touch with his client, a single mom and her three children, when they didn't show up after being in touch just hours before.

A mother, her sister, and her ten year old daughter were asked to come back in two months, after travelling many hours to court, and were told they had to translate their documents into English. The judge doesn't accept Spanish documents, despite the fact that the family only spoke Spanish.

These families deserve better.

They are courageous and have traveled thousands of miles seeking freedom and opportunity, and we slammed the doors of our country shut and treated the families with cruelty and disrespect.

Will you join our fight today, John? Send a message to your Representative right now, and tell them to protect families and make sure they have lawyers with the Asylum Seeker Protection Act without delay.

For the mothers and babies at the border, there's no time to waste. Every single day families are forced to wait for their asylum hearings, they face the constant threat of violence -- from assault, to kidnapping, to sexual violence, to murder.

If they survive the ordeal, they get a fleeting chance to plead their case in one of the video call hearings I witnessed. It's a system set up for cruelty and failure.

Many parents are so desperate they are sending their children across the border alone, hoping that we will take mercy on them as they face violence on the other side of the river. It's horrifying to imagine -- and it's happening right here, on our doorstep.

We need to do everything we can to fight for these families in desperate need of help.

So please, send your Representative a message right now, and tell them to support the Asylum Seeker Protection Act.

It was a tough trip, but I did witness something else -- something that gives me hope: immigrants, lawyers, and activists protesting the injustice, arguing forcefully for their clients, and demanding the end to Trump's racist policy that tears families apart.

I am not losing hope, and I invite you to join us in this fight.

Thanks for everything you do, John.

Sincerely,
Jess Morales Rocketto
Families Belong Together Chairwoman

Families Belong Together is a campaign of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). NDWA is the nation's leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women. If you would like to get in touch with Families Belong Together, click here.