The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a protest Thursday to advocate against the University of Minnesota’s response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders and policy surrounding immigration laws.
Along with the two groups, members of Minnesota8 (MN8), Young Democratic Socialists of America, Asians 4 Palestine and the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee gathered with a city council candidate and the chair of the Chicano and Latino Studies department in a march across the University’s campus in freezing temperatures.
Protesters called for a sanctuary campus, which is an institution that adopts policies to protect undocumented immigrants from federal officers such as Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Emilio Rodríguez, Minneapolis Ward 3 City Council candidate and member of MIRAC, said the University needs to be clearer on its policy surrounding immigration and pledge to help immigrant students that attend the University.
“We would like the University to clarify its role,” Rodríguez said. “How it will comply with ICE? Obviously, it must comply with a judicial order, warrant or subpoena, but where are its limitations, where can it push back?”
One speaker, Kevin Huynh from MN8, emphasized the essential role that immigrants play in the University’s community.
“Immigrants are part of this campus, from the students, employees, staff, professors and even the Board of Regents,” Huynh said in a speech to the crowd. “Under this presidential administration, our communities are under attack.”
Along with calling for the University to declare itself a sanctuary campus, protesters criticized Trump’s actions in office and offered education for the crowd. Amelia María de la Luz Montes, the chair of the Chicano and Latino Studies Department, offered information to the crowd regarding the rights undocumented immigrants have before, during and after being detained.
Above all else, though, SDS member Rowan Lange said the University needs to clarify its policy regarding immigrant students and its stance on Trump’s recent executive orders.
“A lot of it means to just acknowledge their support for students,” Lange said. “Making sure people know their rights, what to do when ICE comes to your door. Also, a lot of it is just making sure people know the administration has their support.”
The protest began in front of Coffman Union but morphed into a march as demonstrators moved down Washington Avenue, rerouting traffic and even stopping a light rail train before finding a place on McNamara Plaza. Throughout the march, several University buses honked in support as they passed the crowd on the light rail tracks, with one bus even stopping outside of its scheduled route to allow students on the bus to join the protest.
The protesters braved the cold weather with wind chills hovering around zero degrees for over an hour as they walked half a mile across campus. Irene Herrera said her worries were not focused on the cold, but on advocating for immigrant rights, both on campus and nationwide.
“We come to school to get an education, not to get deported,” Herrera said. “We’re not here to commit crimes, a lot of us are here to seek the American dream. With no dreamers, there’s no American dream.”
As the daughter of an immigrant herself, Herrera said she worries greatly about how Trump’s recent policy changes will affect immigrant communities across America.
“The University is supposed to speak up for its students,” Herrera said. “It claims to be inclusive for diverse students, it claims so many things, but it’s not sticking to its values that it claims it has. So we need to stand up for ourselves.”
