Protest held outside proposed Houston detention center

HOUSTON – A group of families was traveling on a bus to 53 cities across the United States to gather support for several hundred immigrants who may be required to leave the country or face deportation soon.

The group stopped in Houston on Wednesday to protest a proposed child detention center on Emancipation Avenue and Prairie Street. They then visited the local office of Senator Ted Cruz.

The 12-week caravan, organized by the National TPS Alliance, began in Los Angeles and was set to end in Washington, D.C.

The Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which was created by Congress in 1990 to allow people from countries ravaged by war, famine and natural disasters to remain in the United States temporarily.

The Trump administration argued the conditions that justified TPS no longer exist.

Francis Garcia, from Honduras, has been in the U.S. for 22 years and has three children who are U.S. citizens.

“We deserve to be with our kids and we think it’s unfair they worry more to put our kids behind the cells like they do something really bad. There are so many things on the streets that are happening and they don’t care about it. They care about the innocents. Kids are innocent,” said Garcia.

Caravan members are urging lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow immigrants with temporary protected status to apply for legal status to remain permanently in the U.S.


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