Images of migrant children who have been separated from their parents at the United States border have circulated the internet following the implement of a new, controversial policy. Many are calling the new family separation procedure (which includes placing children in detainment camps) unnecessary and cruel, leading to protests all across the country. Now, per The Hollywood Reporter, George and Amal Clooney are taking a stand against this policy, pledging $100,000 to help the migrant children affected by it.
In a joint statement, the Clooneys revealed that it was their toddler twins who inspired them to take a stand.
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"At some point in the future our children will ask us: ‘Is it true, did our country really take babies from their parents and put them in detention centeres?’ And when we answer yes, they’ll ask us what we did about it. What we said. Where we stood."
The statement to The Hollywood Reporter concluded with:
"We can’t change this administration’s policy but we can help defend the victims of it. Today, the Clooney Foundation for Justice will donate $100,000 to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights."
This is not the first couple to pledge money to help those affected by new immigration policies under former Celebrity Apprentice host and current president Donald Trump. Chrissy Teigen and her husband John Legend donated $288,000 ($72,000 per family member) to the ACLU in honour of Trump's 72nd birthday. The reason, the pair said in a joint statement published on Twitter, was due to their outrage over "immigrant families seeking asylum and refuge in America being ripped apart due to the inhumane policies of the Trump administration."
This is also not the first time the Clooneys have used their wealth to back a political and charitable cause. Recently, the couple donated $500,000 towards March For Our Lives, the gun law reform protest organised by survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.