George and Amal Clooney donate $100,000 to help immigrant children separated from their parents
Hollywood's power couple Amal and George Clooney have donated $100,000 to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. The organization advocates fair treatment and safety of immigrant children in the deportation process and is actively fighting against the Trump administration’s new Border Patrol policy, that has separated over 2,000 immigrant children from their parents.
In a statement, the Clooneys saod: “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? 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.”
President Donald Trump's zero-tolerance policy has been in effect since May and Hollywood has expressed outrage on viewing photos and reading testimonies of immigrant families that have been forcibly divided. Many are likening Trump’s actions to Nazi Germany and Japanese Internment Camps.
Another A-list couple, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, are among the stars who have donated to aid the families. The couple gave $72,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union on June 14 (Donald Trump's birthday), and even encouraged others to donate what they can. Other celebrities including Judd Apatow, Ava DuVernay, and Kumail Nanjiani, haven openly slammed the move on social media, calling the policy “cruel,” “torturing,” and “racist.”
“This Administration’s policy disregards international law and basic principles of human decency,” Young Center executive director Maria Woltjen said.
“To treat children in such a cruel manner not only violates their legal rights but also their basic needs. We are doing everything we can to advocate on behalf of the thousands of children who are separated and alone, and we are grateful for the generous support of George and Amal Clooney and the Clooney Foundation for Justice — it could not be more vital at this time,” Woltjen added.