A user on the social media platform YikYik promoted a protest urging people to “get a crowd together, bring signs and make some noise against ICE” on Jan. 29. The next day, a crowd of roughly 40 students met at Storke Tower to protest recent escalations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The protest was promoted via the anonymous social media app YikYak. Finn Thomas / Daily Nexus
The protest was held on the same day as an organized national shutdown protesting federal actions in Minneapolis and nationwide. In early January, over 2,000 federal agents were sent into Minneapolis to carry out the “largest immigration operation ever,” according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) Acting Director Todd Lyons. Since then, I.C.E. has detained an estimated 3,000 people in the city and killed three American citizens: Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Keith Porter Jr.
The protesters met in front of Storke Tower at 12:45 p.m. before walking into Isla Vista, going down Pardall Road, down the Embarcadero del Mar loop and back toward campus, ending at the UCSB Library. No one that the Daily Nexus spoke to at the protest knew who made the initial post promoting the protest.
Protestors held signs reading “No one is illegal on stolen land,” “Undocumented hands feed you. They are workers not criminals” and “Sí se puede,” which translates to “yes we can” in English. They also chanted “No fear, no hate, no I.C.E. in our state,” “Up with education, down with deportation” and “No justice, no peace, no I.C.E. in our streets.” As they marched through I.V., passing vehicles honked in support of the protest.
First-year political science major Samuel Medina, who directed the crowd, initially joined the protest after seeing people gather in front of Storke Tower. He spoke on the strength of community gathering during moments of crisis.
“I think we have to acknowledge that sometimes we don’t have the political or the economic power, but what we do have is the solidarity of the community, and what we’ll always have is that our strength is found in the numbers, not in the power,” Medina said. “When you have a bunch of people come together in a community, then you start to create real power that can bring real change.”
In regard to the national shutdown, Medina said he supports local businesses as many of them are “created by immigrants.”
“Many of these businesses are created by immigrants, and we’re just trying to say that participating in this national shutdown [is] a one-day loss of income [that] can be justified by the great help that we can do to the country,” Medina said.
First-year economics major Diana Avelar said she found it “concerning” that I.C.E. activity isn’t widely discussed across the university community. She said she believes the economic shutdown is an “effective strategy” but was disappointed by the protest’s turnout.
“I think it’s great to know that some people are aware, and I feel like everyone else has to wake up. I know we all have our things to do with school, but we have to stay aware of what’s going on,” Avelar said.
Once the protestors reached the UCSB Library, students began sharing personal stories and beliefs on immigration enforcement. One speaker said, “Everyone should be actively against I.C.E. at all times” and that I.C.E. is “kidnapping on the streets” and “history [is] repeating itself.”
“This is the Holocaust all over again, and if you don’t see that, you’re being blinded, and it’s a privilege to ignore what’s going on in this country right now. So just remember that what you’re doing right now is what you would have been doing however many years ago in history,” they said.
Another speaker thanked the community for showing support, as “we live in scary times.”
“Thank you all for using your voices and showing love and giving me hope, giving the people around you hope. This shit matters. You’re all incredible for being here. You are brave, keep fighting and thank you all so much,” she said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 5 of the Feb. 5, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.
