Chicago students walk out to kick ICE off campus

Chicago, IL – On Thursday February 27, over 100 students at the University of Illinois Chicago walked out of classes to protest racist Republican attacks on immigrants. The walk out was called by the UIC chapter of New Students for a Democratic Society as part of a national SDS week of action to demand ICE off campus, no deportations, and legalization for all.

Miles Liang, a freshman at UIC, kicked things off, stating, “If admins across the country were made to stand with their students. Not only would this make each campus safer – it would be a mighty blow against Trump’s administration. Coordinated days of protest such as this one show the unity of the student movement, and they grow the social movement which will protect our communities.”

Next was a member of Anakbayan, the Filipino patriotic youth organization, who spoke about the roots of immigration and U.S. intervention: “Many of these Filipinos did not come here in search of the so-called ‘American Dream.’ They came to escape the harsh realities of joblessness, poverty and the lack of economic mobility in the Philippines – realities that are a direct result of U.S. imperialism, militarism and interference in the political and economic affairs of their homeland.”

Speaking for Students for Justice in Palestine, Yusuf Masood, said, “Just like how a year ago Palestinian students were expected to study while their own relatives were being killed, today many latine and immigrant students are expected to continue their schoolwork while their family members or themselves or at risk of deportation and incarceration. SJP, the students and the people stand with our fellow immigrant comrades and know that Palestine is not free until we all are.“

Speaking for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Gio Arujo, stated, “We in the FRSO have been knowing that this is what the U.S. is about. That democracy in the United States is truly only a democracy for the billionaires in this country. And that when this system of oppression fails repeatedly on all of us, they seek to find the scapegoat to continue operating this democracy for the few. And we know that this so-called democracy has never worked for the many of us.”

Luna Fernanda speaking for Mexican Students de Aztlan, emphasized the personal toll these racist attacks on immigrants have taken, speaking to her own experience and highlighting the case of Jocelyn Rojo Carranza, an 11-year-old girl with undocumented parents who took her own life due to racist bullying from her classmates.

Fernanda said “Hate is a disease, hate is an epidemic and hate stalks its way into schools where it then destroys the spirits of young marginalized children. How many kids have to die until people start to care about us?”

The final speaker, Alicia Ribeiro, a representative speaking for Sanctuary for All, a newly launched immigrant rights group on campus, led the crowd in reciting lines to use if they were stopped by an ICE officer. The crowd in unison repeated “Am I under arrest?” and “Am I free to go?” before the speaker ended with a call for UIC to properly label private spaces like classrooms so that ICE could not legally enter without a judicial warrant.

After the first round of speakers, members of SDS read poems written about the struggle of undocumented immigrants and the struggle against U.S. imperialism in Latin America. After these cultural performances, students marched to the main administrative building on campus. Students rallied at the bottom of the 28-story tower as university administrators and half a dozen officers from the Chicago Police Department watched and took notes.

Ariana Vega ended the program, stating, “UIC prides itself on claims of being a sanctuary campus, yet they jeopardize the safety of their students by allowing ICE on campus as long as they have a judicial warrant! UIC loves spouting pretty words that paint the picture of a perfect campus, yet they continue to make these words nothing but false promises. As their students are under attack, UIC protects them with a shield made out of paper and pretends as if that is enough.”

Vega continued, “We are here to demand better from UIC! We demand that UIC chop from the top and cut admins salary! We demand that UIC does not bend under the will of the Trump administration! We will fight against this racist, sexist, anti-gay administration and we will refuse to lose. In the face of the fight against hate and bigotry the people will never lose. We will never back down, and we will never give up; we demand our schools do the same.”

14 other student and community groups endorsed the protest. Campus based groups endorsing were, Mexican Students de Aztlan, Students for Justice in Palestine, Housing Staff United (OPEIU Local 39), Indigenous Grad Student Association, Jewish Student Collective, Sanctuary for All, Latinos Unidos, Anakbayan UIC, Socialist Alternative UIC, and the Public Health Alliance. Citywide groups included the Immigrant Rights Work Team of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, The Black Alliance for Peace, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#ChicagoIL #IL #StudentMovement #SDS #UIC #ImmigrantRights