On Oct. 21, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that the parents of over 545 migrant children separated by the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy have yet to be found. In an impassioned call to action, Shakira penned an essay for Time outlining the heartbreaking experiences of these children and urging readers to speak out about the injustices happening right in front of us.

“In ‘the land of the free,’ there are 545 children now stuck in no-man’s-land, at risk of growing up without a mom or dad, 545 children who have to go to sleep without someone to reassure them that they aren’t in danger at any given moment, 545 children who can’t hug, laugh or have any contact with the people they love most,” she wrote. “Who answers the cries of the children left without their parents?”

The daughter of Lebanese immigrants and the mother to two boys under the age of 10, Shakira went on to plead that these children — 60 percent of whom were estimated to be under the age of five when they were first separated from their families — be given the futures they deserve. “Policies like family separation are born out of cruelty,” Shakira said. “This policy is not about protecting people or making communities safer. The unspeakable tragedy taking place at America’s southern border is about hate and the denial of basic human rights . . .

What rationale could justify separating children from their families, with no intention of ever reuniting them, when the US has prided itself on being a beacon of hope for those who come from places where not even basic needs or safety are a guarantee?”