Thousands of Americans left their schools, homes and businesses on the afternoon of Jan. 30 to protest the increased presence of the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents in communities across the nation, according to Christina Morales of The New York Times. Many participants were USF students, leaving classrooms and dorms for Dolores Park, the site of San Francisco’s ICE Out protest.
The San Francisco march was coordinated by the collective efforts of city students and the Bay Area chapter for the Party for Socialism and Liberation Students according to Olivia Hebert for the SFGATE. Students walked out of classes, marching with signs declaring “We are skipping our lessons to teach you one.” Chants such as “Minnesota to the Bay, ICE, ICE, go away” rippled across the park, according to Hebert. The nationwide ICE Out protests, organized by advocacy group 50501, followed outrage over a pattern of violence in Minnesota, where ICE officers killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old poet and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse.
Both Good and Pretti were participating in protests against violence towards Minnesota’s immigrant community. Nationwide, immigrants have reported violent arrests and dehumanizing detention during President Trump’s second term, with advocacy groups including the Minnesota Immigration Rights Action Committee organizing local marches.
Trump campaigned during both presidential runs on a platform that critics say stigmatized ethnic communities, particularly Hispanic communities. Federal agents have increased enforcement actions in U.S. cities, targeting what officials describe as “the worst criminal illegal aliens” according to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. As of Jan. 17, the Trump administration deported about 230,000 people within the United States and 270,000 at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to The New York Times. Another statistic reported by The New York Times found that:
The increased presence of ICE and reports of unlawful arrests have prompted widespread protests across the country. Junior communication studies major Sofi Pardo described the nationwide Jan. 30 protests as “long overdue.” She said, “I think when I saw it, I was really proud of it because I think we’re becoming more aware that this violence will impact all of us, rather than specific minority communities.”
The sentiment of intersectional cooperation grows increasingly common as a response to ICE employing racial profiling strategies in pursuit of those who are “perceived to be immigrants from particular countries.” According to commentary by Rashawn Ray and Gabriel R. Sanchez for Brookings, this practice has led to arrests of individuals such as Ramon Menera and Chong Ly Thao, both U.S. citizens.
As opposition to ICE grows nationwide, community members say that this is not the first time the federal government has targeted ethnic communities. Rather, historically the United States has set a precedent for limiting immigration with policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the lesser-known Johnson Reed Act of 1924, which set quotas of immigrants based on national origins.
Jesus Aguilar Martinez, a sophomore critical diversities studies major, said such policies reflect a long-standing pattern. “I would say, I feel like it’s been around, but I feel now that we have an administration that has been very vocal and very forward about it; we see it much more…it’s not following any legality with the way people are being kidnapped, killed and held as bait towards their family members and communities…we’re at a scary time in history,” he said.
USF’s diversity is reflected in student responses to ICE activity nationwide. As cities across the nation report fear for their families and neighborhoods amidst continuous ICE raids, students on campus are feeling anxious for their own communities. Sophomore international studies major Ximena Villa Ibarra said, “It’s one thing to hear about what’s happening from the headlines, and it’s another thing to kind of understand it in the way that it directly impacts my family.”
Despite the increased ICE raids, students expressed optimism as communities continue to rally in support of immigrant communities across the United States.
