Though Trump issued an executive order to end family separation in June of last year, the effects of his administration’s cruel practice are still reverberating across the country. Some families have been reunited since the lawsuit forced the government to halt family separation, but many more continue to be separated through other legal means. And asylum seekers and immigrants awaiting confirmation on their status still lack basic necessities like food and rent, with many others struggling to pay for legal services.
With so many in limbo, it’s still paramount to support these families and bring awareness to their hardships. A new campaign from Brooklyn Defender Services, RAICES, and the ACLU of Southern California aims to do just that. The While They Wait initiative hopes to raise funds to pay for these families’ day-to-day needs and immigration fees; it also includes a petition calling for a universal right to legal representation, since immigrants do not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel.
The organizations are launching this campaign in tandem with a new music video for the song “I Found You / Nilda’s Story” by benny blanco, Calvin Harris, and Miguel. Unfolding with all the power and heartbreak of a feature-length documentary, the moving clip chronicles the story of Nilda, an Honduran mother, and her two-year-old son Keyden, who are seeking asylum after escaping domestic and gang violence. In 2018, Nilda was separated from Keyden at the border in Texas for two months, and she was subsequently held in five different detention centers across the country. The video captures all their tribulations as they wait to see if they can remain in the United States.
Though he is the child of a Mexican immigrant, Miguel has been vocal about family separation and immigration detention for some time; it isn’t the first time the R&B singer uses his platform to bring attention to these issues. This video in particular captures so many of the hardships that Central American immigrants and asylum seekers must confront upon arrival to the U.S.
Watch the clip below, and learn more about the While They Wait campaign here.