Over 250 people gathered on campus on Feb. 6 to protest Trump’s immigration policies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities. The group marched from the Arbor to Cheadle Hall and finally to the Eternal Flame through rain and wind as eight campus organizations delivered speeches.
An individual holds a sign stating “FUCK I.C.E” amid rain at the Arbor Walkway. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 to crack down on illegal immigration across the country by declaring a national emergency. In response, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) arrested 8,276 people across the country between Jan. 22 and Jan. 31 and detained at least 11 people in Santa Barbara County (SBC).
There are an estimated 44,000 undocumented immigrants in SBC, according to the Migration Policy Institute. I.C.E. agents were confirmed to be in Santa Barbara and Goleta for the first time since the beginning of the Trump administration on Jan. 26 — including sightings near Milpas Street.
A protestor holds the sign “CLOSE THE CAMPS, ABOLISH I.C.E” with smears due to rain. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
Students, staff, members of faculty and community members met at the Arbor at around 11:45 a.m. before spending the next hour and a half chanting, hearing speeches and marching around campus in the rain. Students carried signs that read “make America kind again” and “undocu and unfair,” among other things. Some protestors carried flags of Mexico, Palestine and other Latin American countries, and one individual beat a drum alongside the chants of the crowd.
Protest organizers discouraged students from engaging with media and police, as per protest guidelines on an Instagram post. They were also told to refrain from blocking doorways and walking paths in line with new University of California (UC) protest and “time, place and manner” policies, which outline how and where student activism is allowed. Most attendees wore masks to protect their identities and some wore masks to protect themselves from being exposed due to their undocumented status, according to protest organizers.
The Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Success (I.D.E.A.S.) student chairs spoke to the crowd about feeling unsatisfied with the University’s response to new immigration policies. I.D.E.A.S. is a student organization that provides financial, academic and emotional support to undocumented students on campus.
“Undocumented students report feeling unsafe and neglected by the school’s silence. The lack of response from this institution contributes to the anti-immigrant rhetoric that places our most vulnerable communities at risk,” they said.
UCSB Media Relations Manager Kiki Reyes said the University stands by UC President Michael V. Drake’s statement about the Trump administration and is working closely with his office and other campuses in their response to Trump’s executive orders.
“As President Michael Drake wrote in his message last week, the University stands firmly committed to supporting our community members and upholding our core values as a public research university,” Reyes said in a statement to the Nexus.
Another event organizer read out a statement on behalf of the Black Student Union. They connected the Black liberation struggle in America to the struggle of undocumented immigrants, and touched on how Black immigrants are more heavily targeted by authorities.
“The Trump administration perpetuates relentless attacks on immigrants, particularly through I.C.E. raids and malevolent immigration policies. Black immigrants from African, Caribbean and Afro-Latine communities are disproportionately affected, facing not only deportation but heightened criminalization due to anti-Black policing,” they said.
Pages for Individuals in Prison at UCSB, an organization that supports incarcerated individuals by sharing books as a source of refuge, expressed concerns about the increasing number of people being put behind bars after Trump’s inauguration.
“With two million people behind bars, the U.S. has the largest incarceration rate in the world,” they said. “More than 3,500 people have been arrested since Trump’s inauguration. These numbers will continue to increase.”
A representative from Jewish Voice for Peace addressed Chancellor Henry T. Yang directly, urging him to ban I.C.E. from campus in order to protect students and the sanctity of UCSB as a public university.
“We direct this message to Henry Yang and all university officials with the capability of barring I.C.E. from this campus. We are an educated institution, not a battleground,” they said.
A Students for Justice in Palestine spokesperson said their movement is about collective liberation for all. They connected their fight for a free Palestine to the liberty of undocumented people.
“This shared experience will fuel the global struggle for freedom and justice, uniting people across borders to fight against the beast of imperialism,” they said.
Protestors gather outside Cheadle Hall with umbrellas. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
The group marched to Cheadle Hall, where Yang’s office is located, to voice their demands to ban I.C.E. from campus. From there they gathered at the Eternal Flame near the chemistry lawn — a gift from the UCSB class of 1968 and a symbol of peace.
UC Divest Coalition members explained that the significance of gathering there is connected to the North Hall Takeover where a group of 12 Black students protested UCSB administration’s lack of support for Black students. The Department of Black Studies was created as a result of the movement.
At the Eternal Flame, El Congresso and an undocumented UCSB student without Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals spoke. Underground Scholars, which aims to support students who were formerly incarcerated or impacted by the system, also gave a speech about how incarcerated people are at higher risk of deportation without due process.
They said Trump’s deportation efforts disproportionately affect Black and Latine communities as a result of the “prison industrial complex” perpetuated by systematic racism.
“The current system fails to provide opportunities for rehabilitation and transformation,” they said. “The intersection of incarceration and deportation have left many facing a future of uncertainty.”
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Feb. 13, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.
Why hasn’t the eternal flame been decarbonized yet? Seems like low hanging fruit.
Pales in comparison to the millions upon millions who voted for just such action.