On Feb. 5, approximately 180 students, staff and faculty participated in the “March for Solidarity” to support community members impacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity.
The event began in front of Franz Hall with speeches from organizer Alex Tuite and her roommate Andrea Yuriar.
Tuite, a first-year nursing major, spoke about Diana Crespo Gonzalez, a 7-year-old girl from Gresham, Oregon, who was detained by immigration agents while seeking emergency care at Adventist Health hospital in Portland.
Tuite said that UP nursing students are taught that the hospital is a “sanctuary,” and patient care takes precedence. The detainment of the family “shattered that trust.”
“As we stand here on a Catholic campus guided by a faith that insists on the dignity of the family, it’s our moral obligation to use the freedom and opportunities we have to stand for what’s right,” Tuite said. “It’s time to march for what’s right.”
Tuite then handed the microphone to Yuriar, who urged audience members to support their community members across differences.
“We stand in solidarity with the entire immigrant community,” Yuriar said. “Even though you and your neighbor may look different, speak a different language [or] honor different celebrations, we are united by the grace of humanity and by the ability to bleed the same blood.”
The march is the latest campus response to increased ICE activity. On Jan. 30, multiple professors cancelled class in support of the “National Shutdown” anti-ICE campaign. On Feb. 1, President Kelly sent an email to the campus community, addressing recent ICE activity and sharing community protocols and resources.
The demonstrators started marching in the Academic Quad before moving through the West and East Quads, ending in the courtyard in front of Dundon-Berchtold Hall. They carried signs and candles while chanting the phrases “No justice, no peace, no ICE on our streets,” “Say their names” and “ICE out.”
Senior Norma Lopez Paz said the march was an opportunity to show unified support for an issue that “impacts all of us directly.” She said she felt optimistic that demonstrators could gather, despite UP’s protest policy.
She carried a sign that read “ALL RIGHTS FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS.”
“I hope to see unity among students,” Lopez Paz said. “Especially at a private school, it's hard to speak up with all the regulations here. But I really hope to see a good mixture of different demographics of students and faculty joining in on this.”
Sophomore Yailen Romero said that she doesn’t expect immediate change from the demonstration, but that the event was a chance to show solidarity.
“[Demonstrations] are not always going to have a dramatic result,” Romero said. “But the point is we’re unifying to show we’re connected with one another and knowing that other people are there for us.”
Maggie Dapp is the Editor-In-Chief of The Beacon. She can be reached at dapp26@up.edu.
Kalena O’Connell is the News and Managing Editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at oconnell27@up.edu.
