KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Hundreds have rallied in Kansas City against separating immigrant parents from their children.

The Sunday rally at the County Club Plaza was one of many around the country. Mayor Sly James joined the rally, calling on the crowd to seize the issue as Kansas City’s cause, against immorality and inhumanity, in defense of “liberty and justice . . . for all.”

Some in the crowd waved signs reading, “Free the children.”

Forty-two-year-old Fabiola Cruz stepped forward when the call went out for testimonies. The Kansas Citian from Tijuana, Mexico, said she called on friends, texting for them to join her, but they feared retribution against themselves, or members of their families. She says the situation is “hurting our families.”