Child detention protest important ‘today more than ever’ after El Paso shooting

Local activists stood behind cardboard cutouts of children on the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 30 near Hulen Street on Sunday to protest President Donald Trump’s policy of separating children from their parents at the border.

“I thought I would put up images of children on the bridge because it did look like they were in cages,” said local artist Linda Little. From there the idea grew and an event was held at the Grackle Art Gallery to produce more artwork.

“We have to keep shining the light on it,” said Cindy Fountain, a member of Patriots for the Children, a group that has been fighting the federal policy of separation by protesting on University Drive every week for more than a year.

Though the action was planned before the mass shooting in El Paso, Little said that reminding people of the conditions of the children being detained is more important now than ever.

“There’s a lot of fear and ignorance,” Little said. “And there’s a lack of compassion and a feeling of humanity.”