Activists rally across San Francisco against migrant camps at Southern border

SAN FRANCISO (KTVU) - San Francisco activists spoke out on Thursday in opposition of migrant camps on the southern border.

In San Francisco's Japantown, activists spoke out against the Trump administration’s border policies.

They draw a straight line from the detention and incarceration of those of Japanese ancestry during World War II with the Trump administration's current policies detaining those seeking asylum at the southern border. 

"Now we're seeing the most glaringly obvious parallel, using a former site to incarcerate Japanese Americans to warehouse migrant children without their parents," said Don Tamaki.

Chizu Omori survived internment at an Arizona camp from the ages of 12 to 15.

She says there are clear similarities now with the Japanese American experience; right down to those in power broadly defining a group of people and saying they're dangerous.

"You start with that labeling, and then it kind of justifies all kinds of actions. So, yeah, there are clear parallels." said Omori.

Across town, outside the 9th Circuit Court, another protest was underway with the same message.

 More than a dozen demonstrators held up photos of children who've died while detained by the US government.

Those protesters staging a die in say the current administration’s policies are immoral and are killing men, women, and children.

"They're all our children," said protester Andrea Shippy. "This is not just an American thing, it's a human thing. If you have a human heart, you're outraged about this situation with the children dying in the concentration camps."

But, some disagree that the fault lies with the Trump administration. 

"No, it's the parents’ fault that the children are in the situation they're in," said one passerby.
The protests in San Francisco came as the House passed a bill approving $4.5 billion dollars for border protection.           

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the legislation was necessary to get much needed funding to protect minors already in custody. She urged her colleagues to go forward to protect children in a way that honors their dignity and worth.