The rain may have drenched signs and flags, but it didn’t damper the spirit of Thursday’s protest at UC Santa Barbara.
More than 200 students, staff and faculty marched on campus in protest of raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy, and to demand that university administration protect undocumented and immigrant students.
The protest started with a rally outside the library, where multiple student representatives spoke out against actions taken by the Trump administration, violence against marginalized communities, and called on UCSB officials not to be silent about the issues.
The protest was organized by El Congreso, a UCSB activist group, the UCSB Divest Coalition, Underground Scholars, and Pages for Individuals in Prison.
While representatives from the university’s Black Student Union were not present, they did send in a statement for the organizers to read.
“The Trump administration perpetuates relentless attacks on immigrants, particularly Black immigrants,” the statement read. “Black immigrants are disproportionately affected, facing not only deportation but heightened criminalization and anti-Black policing. Just as we reject the criminalization of Black bodies fueling the prison industrial complex, we reject narratives that exclude Black experiences from mainstream discussions on immigration.”
A representative of Pages for Individuals in Prison, which is a subcommittee of Associated Students that provides books and other resources to incarcerated individuals, spoke about the policing of marginalized communities and mass incarcerations of people of color.
“These recent actions show an increase in the violent policing of brown and Black bodies and an enduring legacy of this country’s carceral system, which since its inception, has long sought out to police and exploit marginalized communities,” the student representative said.
A student who identified herself as Hiro spoke on behalf of Jewish Voice for Peace about the Trump administration and policies.
“In the past two weeks alone, Trump has made statements and implemented policies directly targeting Black and brown communities, Jewish people, queer people, disabled people, women and the list goes on,” Hiro said. “Trump’s presidency and his policies are not only painful but catastrophic.”
Hiro also talked about Trump’s recent comments about the United States taking over Gaza and demanded that university administration protect students by keeping ICE off campus.
A representative from Students for Justice in Palestine continued to talk about U.S. involvement in violence against immigrants and the Palestinian people.
“We cannot view these as separate incidents, especially not when the current administration has threatened executive orders calling for deportation against international students that support the liberation of Palestine,” the student representative said.
Following the rally outside the library, the protesters marched to Cheadle Hall, which houses Chancellor Henry Yang’s office.
The protesters repeated several chants, including “Colonizers, we don’t need them,” “What we want is total freedom,” “Immigrants are welcome here” and “Families belong together.”
After repeating those chants and more outside Cheadle Hall, the protesters marched toward the eternal flame monument, which honors civil right leaders.
At the eternal flame, representatives for Underground Scholars, an organization that helps formerly incarcerated students in higher education, spoke about how incarcerated individuals face a higher risk of deportations.
They also called on the university to protect all students, regardless of immigration status, and to support formerly incarcerated individuals advocating for fair immigration policies.