Kumail Nanjiani, Ellen DeGeneres and More Stars Call for Action Against “Zero Tolerance” Immigration Policy

After President Donald Trump sparked an outrage from Democrats and some Republicans over his new “zero tolerance” policy that forces the separation of migrant children and parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, Hollywood stars are joining the protest.

Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period in April and May after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the new Trump policy that refers all cases of illegal entry for criminal prosecution. U.S. protocol prohibits detaining children with their parents because the children are not charged with a crime and the parents are.

After the president received backlash for his controversial immigration policy, first lady Melania Trump publicly addressed the crisis, saying she “hates” to see families separated and “hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform.” Meanwhile, Hilary Clinton commented on the policy, deeming it a “a moral and humanitarian crisis.” “Every human being with a sense of compassion and decency should be outraged,” she said.

Despite the backlash, Trump has defended the policy, arguing that the U.S. “will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility.” He added that the possibility of the country becoming a refugee camp will not happen. “Not on my watch,” the president said Monday.

After reported audio of crying children was released, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the children aren’t being treated inhumanely, as some may believe. While speaking at a White House briefing Monday, Nielsen said the issue has been growing for years and is simply the product of loopholes that have created an open border.

Outraged over the policy, stars took to twitter to express their frustrations while encouraging everyone to fight back against the deemed “unamerican” act. 

I truly believe arguing & trying to convince people is not going to work. If they can see pictures of children in cages and justify it, in any way, they are gone. It is a waste of time and energy. We have to mobilize and motivate the other people, those who are rightly horrified.

— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) June 18, 2018

Can someone please DM who knows of an organized movement to revolt against this latest trump abomination at the border? We need to stop everything and march until this Trump policy ends. We are going to end up like Germany in WWII. We have to all stand up and do something.

— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) June 18, 2018

This can’t be who we are as a country. Please call your senators: 202-224-3121 #EndFamilySeparation #FamiliesBelongTogether pic.twitter.com/Cr4mbD5qU9

— Kate Walsh (@katewalsh) June 18, 2018

What white nationalists say… https://t.co/KvBtYzeo4k

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) June 18, 2018

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore- Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”#UnAmerican pic.twitter.com/wQUdewTsle

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) June 16, 2018

Babies torn from their parents.
Can’t stand it! Will be watching@GayleKing and her colleaques LiVE from Texas. @CBSThisMorning 7am

— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) June 18, 2018

Same boat as you, Pa.
Sick to my stomach and heartbroken for our nation this Father’s Day.
Love you. https://t.co/Eu6HL1SMyf

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) June 17, 2018

I don’t care what your politics are, we can’t be a country that separates children from their parents. Do something about this, here. https://t.co/0ozLcxxmxC

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) June 18, 2018

Well Said @laurawbush These images of parents and children being separated is horrifying. Cruel and immoral and deplorable. https://t.co/ePLUm310Ph

— Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) June 18, 2018

“Until the end of the Civil War, it was common for slave owners to rip families apart by selling the children to other slave owners. In the late 1800s to the 1970s, indigenous children across the country were forcibly separated from their families and sent to ‘Indian schools'” https://t.co/Q6xxQDcZZO

— COMMON (@common) June 18, 2018

MAKE THEM PUBLIC: Demand the @whitehouse make public each-and-every one of the 100 federal camps separating children and families. And let our elected officials inside. From NY to CA; From the Dakotas, to the border of Texas. The fight for humanity is on.

This is not America.

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) June 18, 2018

depicting immigrants as criminals is Trump administration strategy to justify their monstrously cruel policy of taking children away from parents #ChildAbuseAtBorder

— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) June 18, 2018

Isn’t it the just the best to snuggle your little one — knowing exactly where they are, safe in your arms? It’s the best. The BEST. Right, Ivanka? Right? https://t.co/X79r8aWInc

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 27, 2018

Please follow my work on ending money bail, ending mass incarceration, ending juvenile incarceration #KeepFamiliesTogether https://t.co/hcXPSjETfR

— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 17, 2018

happy birthday, @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/BWEgRAcdPX

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) June 14, 2018

Children fleeing violence and unrest don’t deserve to be ripped from their families. They have come knocking on America’s door asking for a safe haven and they deserve better. #WhereAreTheChildren #FamiliesBelongTogether

— Gina Rodriguez (@HereIsGina) June 1, 2018

Hey guys, this is us. We are doing this. Right now. How can we make this stop!? https://t.co/CKgvNBVB9R

— #EvanRachelWould (@evanrachelwood) June 17, 2018

“It was a simple decision…” – Stephen Miller

“The children will be taken care of – put into foster care or whatever…” – John Kelly

“…God has ordained (Government) for the purpose of order.” – Sessions

It’s “The Democrats.” – Herod https://t.co/ZVqqiMLKjj

— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) June 16, 2018