Protesters rallied Thursday outside the Metro Detention Center, where undocumented immigrants are processed in Los Angeles before being deported.
Those who participated the event felt close emotional ties with immigrant families who are being imprisoned at the Mexican border.
Attendees said that while politicians may look at the issue as being political, they look at it as being an issue of one word: family.
"As a mother and as a human, I feel like this is the very least I can do," said Hannah Rudnick, who attended the rally.
Rudnick, who has two children under the age of five, was one of several parents at the rally. Many of them brought their children, providing a visualization of reality at the Mexican border.
"It's horrifying. I can't imagine not being able to kiss my kids good night," Rudnick said.
Rudnick said while some argue they don't recognize America right now, she does.
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"I do. Because we did this during slavery and we did it to Native American children in schools, boarding schools, and we did it during Japanese internment," Rudnick said. "This is pretty American what's going on and it's unfortunate."
Jose Montes has a much more personal connection to the immigration issue. He was five years old when he was separated from his mother at the San Ysidro crossing between San Diego and Tijuana.
"When I see what's happening down there, I see a reflection of what I went through," Montes said. "It's been almost 18 years and I think about it every day. I can picture the cold floor, I remember I was trying to sleep on the floor and I didn't sleep that whole night. I remember being very scared waiting to go up to the window to see what our fate was going to be."
A small metal cage at the rally represented the giant fenced-in areas of the detention center in Texas that has made headlines across the globe.
Celina Martinez, an immigrant mother, said the President's executive order yesterday is not enough. She believes families should be reunited and released.
"It's sad to see our own people from our own species to think children deserve to be in cages!" Martinez said. "It's unbelievable this country, the land of the free is nothing but the free."
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