Celebrities continued to speak out on Wednesday after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reverse his policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to reverse his policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The order was signed at the White House on Wednesday with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Vice President Mike Pence. However, the administration's "zero tolerance" policy of prosecuting illegal border crossings remains in place, meaning families can still be held in detention centers.
According to section one of the new order, the administration will continue to prosecute crimes of "improper entry" and "maintain family unity, including by detaining alien families together where appropriate and consistent with law and available resources."
As news broke, celebrities took to social media to voice their opinions and continued concerns.
"Today an Executive Order was signed to stop parent and child separation at the border. Unfortunately, it doesn't help the thousands of children that have already been forcibly removed from their families," Julianne Hough shared in an Instagram post. "I love you all and I ask you to consider how we can be better together, and today I believe that means helping these kids get back to their parents arms. #familiesbelongtogether."
John Legend retweeted a post from Congressman Dan Kildee, which read, "We shouldn't congratulate @RealDonaldTrump on being forced to end his own cruel policy that separates children from their families. Thousands of children have suffered & will forever be scarred by the Trump Administration’s inhumane separation of families. #FamiliesBelongTogether."
Nicki Minaj also spoke up, reminding fans that she "came to this country as an illegal immigrant @ 5 years old."
"I can't imagine the horror of being in a strange place & having my parents stripped away from me at the age of 5. This is so scary to me," she said. "Can you try to imagine the terror & panic these kids feel right now? Not knowing if their parents are dead or alive, if they'll ever see them again..."
Trump's 36-year-old daughter, Ivanka, also weighed in, thanking her dad for "taking critical action" by ending family separation at our border.
"Congress must now act + find a lasting solution that is consistent with our shared values; the same values that so many come here seeking as they endeavor to create a better life for their families," she tweeted.
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As previously reported, the original immigration policy resulted in about 2,000 children being separated from their parents during a six-week period in April and May. Plenty of celebrities expressed their outrage via social media, including Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, who donated $288,000 to the ACLU.
George and Amal Clooney also spoke out, revealing in a statement on Wednesday that they were donating $100,000 to the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights from their Clooney Foundation for Justice.
"At some point in the future our children will ask us: is it true, did our country really take babies from their parents and put them in detention centers?" their statement read. "And when we answer yes, they'll ask us what we did about it. What we said. Where we stood. We can't change this Administration's policy, but we can help defend the victims of it."
Kristen Bell, Jimmy Kimmel, Anne Hathaway and Reese Witherspoon are just a few of the other names from the long list of Hollywood stars who have encouraged their fans to take action. Hear more on what they've said (and what you can do to help) in the video below.
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