Rallies across Canada protest separation of children from their families in the U.S.

TORONTO – Crowds of people gathered at rallies across Canada today to protest an American policy that separated families who were caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Alexandra Vaz, who organized a rally outside the American Consulate in Toronto, says she decided to act because as a mother of a young girl, the situation frustrated her.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently ordered that families no longer be separated, but officials estimate there are still more than 2,000 children who have not been reunited with their loved ones.

The message of Toronto's protesters was clear: keep families together.

Laura Prado, an immigrant from Uruguay who arrived to Canada in 1986, says she could not bear the notion of being separated from her child.

More than a dozen protests were organized across the country, including in Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa and Vancouver.