Folklórico dancers led the way as roughly 700 protestors marched across the UC Santa Barbara campus, demanding the abolition of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Feb. 4. The protest was organized by local activist groups and was held in solidarity with global geopolitical issues.
Students and community members gathered around Storke Tower after marching. Sara Stevens / Daily Nexus
Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, over 380,000 people have been arrested by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.), with over 1,600 people across Santa Barbara County (SBC), San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County, according to local activist Cesar Vasquez.
Eyewitnesses to detainments have reported that I.C.E. has employed terror tactics such as racial profiling, excessive use of force and attempts to enter homes without judicial warrants. Anti-I.C.E. protests have increased in January following the killings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Students and community members gathered around the Eternal Flame monument at 12 p.m. while organizers handed out masks, signs and flyers that promoted rapid response training, as well as a petition to make UCSB a “sanctuary campus” by not allowing I.C.E. on campus. Organizers burned incense and shouted “UCSB walkout” on megaphones toward surrounding classes throughout the march.
Vasquez, founder of La Cultura Del Mundo, a national youth-led movement “advancing immigrant protection, visibility, and justice,” began the protest with a chant of “Chinga La Migra,” which translates to “Fuck I.C.E.” Vasquez then led a moment of silence for those detained by I.C.E. and their families before playing the song “Hasta la Piel” by Carla Morrison, which he listens to whenever someone is taken by I.C.E.
“I witnessed 12 kidnappings as of today in the streets of Santa Barbara County, and after every kidnapping, I listen to this song to mourn these lives. I’ve listened to this song more than 1,600 times,” Vasquez said. “I’d like for you all to listen to it with me for the person that was taken this morning in Santa Maria.”
Next, Vasquez shared stories of individuals taken by I.C.E. The first story was of the first I.C.E. kidnapping Vasquez witnessed, where I.C.E. officers took a father, then taunted his daughter with information about where he was being taken. The second story was of two teenage siblings in Ventura who live alone after their guardian was taken by I.C.E. The last story shared was of a father who witnessed his daughter, son and pregnant wife taken in front of him.
“These are the stories. These are the families. They’re not the criminals the government is trying to say they are, but they’re our community,” Vasquez said. “We must stand for our community.”
Vasquez said that those who don’t get involved with anti-I.C.E. activism have “no excuse” and shouldn’t be “give[n] grace.” He called anti-I.C.E. activism “revolutionary work” that is “taking a step towards liberation for all.”
“This walkout is not enough. A protest will never be enough. You must go out there. You must defend your community. You must fight for those that can’t,” Vasquez said. “We must stand together and we must understand that the system has not been built for us.”
Vasquez thanked protestors for attending and ended his speech with chants of “Se puede o no se puede? Si se puede” and “El pueblo unido hamas sera vencido,” which translate to “Can it, or can it not be done? Yes it can be [done]” and “The community united, will never be divided” respectively.
The next speaker outlined guidelines for protestors to remain peaceful, safe and “move together with intention.”
Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
Protestors then marched to Cheadle Hall, which houses UCSB administration. Along the way, protestors chanted “From Palestine to Mexico, all these walls have got to go,” “No justice no peace, no I.C.E. in our streets” and “Money for jobs and education, not for war and deportations,” among others.
At Cheadle Hall, protestors directed their chants at the administration inside the building. Another protestor spoke about the power of mass activism.
“Mass activism is the most necessary component to winning any political demands,” she said. “It was what won higher minimum wage in Missouri and Nebraska. It is what won the Black studies department here at UCSB.”
She then went over the protesters’ demands for administration, such as making UCSB a sanctuary campus.
“No student should fear for the deportation of themself or of their families while on this campus,” she said. “We will not stop until I.C.E. gets off this campus.”
The next speaker shared that their father had been deported about three weeks before. They continued to call on the UCSB administration to resist I.C.E.
“Those people in that building have more money than all of us combined and they will not use it for us,” the speaker said. “They will not use it to protect other human beings whose human right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is being violated as of this moment.”
From Cheadle Hall, the protest continued marching through the Arbor walkway, eventually ending at Storke Plaza. Here, protesters held up a banner made of American flags on the awning that read, “Mexicans aren’t going anywhere.”
Protesters held up a banner made of American flags on the awning that read, “Mexicans aren’t going anywhere.” Anusha Singh / Daily Nexus
One speaker shared a poem about the racial injustices that people of color have faced and continue to face throughout history.
“History does not repeat itself, it’s been this way the whole time. The only difference is that now I run the block, money, weed, murder on my mind, colonized, segregated, mis-educated at the back of the free lunch line,” the speaker read.
As more and more people began dispersing, protestors began sharing their personal feelings against I.C.E. One student spoke about the organizing power that young people have.
“I know sometimes we forget. We’re young, we’re silent before everything. We’re silent so much. We just got to remember that we’re young and we have a stride. We have the power, not the regents, not the president, not the fucking government,” he said.
In an interview with the Daily Nexus, Vasquez spoke about how Trump’s presidency and immigration enforcement actions have affected him throughout his life. He said he witnessed “eight kidnappings across six days,” along with his own family members being taken by I.C.E.
Vasquez said he chose to pursue activism as opposed to attending college this year. In regard to whether people should choose activism over career choices, Vasquez said, “There would be no classes to attend if every professor was deported or dead.”
“A lot of people think about right now, we’ll miss my midterm right now, we’ll miss this class, this assignment, this hangout with a friend. But people that weren’t here today are failing to realize that it is not about today, it is about tomorrow. It is about the future and their future,” Vasquez said.
Regarding the high turnout, Vasquez said it was “amazing” and cited a saying of a close friend of his: “Within thousands there are thousands.”
“Every day I.C.E. from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura County are taking on average 10 people a day. And so if we think about 700, and 10 people are being taken every day, if they looked like me or my family, this entire protest, this entire walk out, every student would be gone in 70 days. 70 days, 700 people can completely disappear, and that’s terrifying to think about,” Vasquez said.
Second-year history of policy, law and governance major Meadows Stevens served as the media coordinator for the protest and said she felt the protest was “beautiful.”
In regards to how the University is addressing immigration issues, she said “they are definitely not doing enough,” and “if anything, they are abiding with I.C.E.” As far as next steps protestors can take, Stevens recommends people get involved with local anti-I.C.E. organizations such as 805UndocuFund, Union del Barrio and SB Resiste.
“There are not as many of us, but if there [are] more — even just a few people from the rally today who decide that they want to help their community — then that is a lot more of us in liberation,” Stevens said.
We our proud democrats hear in Santa Barbara and we must stand up and RESIST the fashist idoits of the Trump Adminastration. Those FoxNews-whaching republitards our every thing that is wrong in America. Clinton and Oboma never deported ANYONE. We must go back to those days of TOLARENCE, of COMPPASSION, of INTELLUGINCE. IT TAKE’s A VILLAGE. VOTE DEMOCRAT