Amid unprecedented immigration raids, cities, organizations and individuals have organized protests against the presence and implementation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
LSU’s Students for a Democratic Society held an “ICE Out of Everywhere” rally Thursday in Free Speech Alley. It served as a response to the killings of U.S. citizens by ICE agents.
SDS referenced the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Both were U.S. citizens killed in separate encounters with ICE agents within three weeks. Protesters also decried the murder of Keith Porter Jr., who was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent in California last year.
In each case, families and civil rights advocates questioned official accounts and called for independent investigations, contributing to the debate over the use of force and power that federal immigration enforcement has access to.
SDS member Gabriela Juarez led much of the demonstration. Juarez was previously arrested on LSU’s campus after speaking beyond the allotted time during public comment at a presidential search committee meeting in October.
“There’s an idea that LSU is a very conservative campus,” Juarez said. “I think you’ll find if you actually go and talk to the student body, regardless of the language or words that they might use, that they are not supportive of this far-right, MAGA agenda.”
The hour-long demonstration featured organized chants and remarks from speakers representing several LSU student organizations, including Students for a Democratic Society, Feminists in Action and the Road Socialist Organization.
Protesters chanted slogans such as “Money for jobs and education, not for mass deportation” and “No one is illegal, power to the people.” One chant was delivered in Spanish, as participants voiced support for immigrant rights.
“In my four years, this is my first time seeing a positive protest in Free Speech Alley,” said Joliegh Josephs, a coastal environmental science senior who was at the protest. “It’s good to see something you can feel good about.”
Despite not being able to protest on the steps in front of the union, hecklers passing by and police presence, members of SDS were satisfied with the turnout.
“During the rally, I felt very hopeful. We’re seeing people get involved in the struggle, and we’re seeing them resist ICE,” said Ziad Eissa, the vice president of SDS.
SDS also demanded that LSU and LSUPD have no collaboration with ICE. This stemmed from an incident last year where the university cooperated with ICE in the arrest of two Iranian students.
They also want LSU to provide “Know your rights” training for faculty, staff and students. And monitor the visa status of immigrant students to help them retain documented status.
In addition to the protest, SDS created a petition on actionnetwork.org, which reiterates the same demands.
“We’re going to continue demonstrating until LSU meets our demands,” Eissa said.
