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Seattle Mayor Durkan to travel to U.S.-Mexico border to protest immigration policy

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that she will be traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border in Tornillo, Texas this week to protest and call for the reversal of the the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy of separating children from their parents.

KIRO 7 Reporter Michael Spears is live on air with what the mayor is calling the policy and the facility she will tour.

Durkan will join a bipartisan delegation of mayors from the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM).

The Trump administration policy, which went into effect in May, sought to maximize criminal prosecutions of people caught trying to enter the United States illegally. More adults were being jailed as a result, which led to their children being separated from them.

Two weeks ago, Durkan introduced a resolution condemning the policy. The resolution passed unanimously.

“As a mother, it is unconscionable that our country is allowing children to be literally torn out of the arms of their mothers,” Durkan said. “There is no way to justify the policies and actions of this administration --  they continue to misrepresent the law, leaving families devastated and children traumatized. The world is watching, bearing witness to this inhumane and un-American policy. We cannot stand by without taking action.”

Tornillo, Texas is the location of a federal shelter for separated migrant children.

Government statistics indicate that nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period in April and May.

"I think what's going on the border is probably one of the most un-American things that I have seen in my lifetime. And for the U.S. government to separate children from their parents is not only unnecessary, it's wrong," Durkan said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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