Fort Greene Bodega Takes On Trump With Huge Immigration Banner

FORT GREENE, NY — A Fort Greene bodega is taking on Trump's immigration policies.

Ralph Jawad, owner of Ralph's at 89 Lafayette Ave., has covered the outside of his store with a huge sign decrying the separation of immigrant children from their parents. He said he was struck by news stories and photos of families affected by the "zero tolerance" policy for illegal border crossings, then a customer suggested the banner.

Workers were already on the roof fixing tiles and the shop's sign and Jawad asked them to add the giant "Holding Kids Hostage Is An Act Of Terrorism" banner.

"This is not what America's built on, taking kids away from their parents," said Jawad. "What happened to human rights?

"They might as well send the Statue of Liberty back."

The huge sign, and a smaller one in the window, has already started turning heads in the neighborhood since it went up. Director Spike Lee, who's shooting a TV show nearby, took a photo of it and posted it on his Instagram page where it's gotten nearly 20,000 likes.

Passersby stop to read the sign or snap a photo of it as they walk by, with some making sure to let Jawad know they support the message.

"I think some of these people are scared to speak up, especially a lot of foreigners," said Jawad. "A lot of them walking by give me the thumbs, the fist and everything."

President Donald Trump's administration recently started to enforce a "zero tolerance" policy and criminally prosecute anyone crossing the border illegally, which sends them to federal jail.

Since children can't be held in adult jails, the policy has separated more than 2,300 children from their parents leaving them in government facilities, with some held in cages, the New York Times reported. About 700 kids are currently in New York State, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Trump signed an executive order this week keeping the "zero tolerance" policy in place but saying families should be detained together. However, the government has no plans to reunite people already separated, the Times reported.

Despite the executive order, Jawad still worries about how the government is going to reunite families and plans to leave the sign up protesting the policy for a long time.

"I'm going to leave up till it falls down on its own," he said. "It's staying up until maybe we get some sense in this world."

Jawad hopes the banner inspires others to take action and wants to see similar ones prop up around the area.

"Everybody should stand up and start putting up their own signs and flags," he said. "America's the country that everyone looks to for help and for freedom. It looks like there's no liberty and no justice."

Ralph's has been a neighborhood fixture since Jawad's dad opened it in the 1970s.

Image: Nicholas Rizzi/Patch