On Jan. 29, over 1,000 MSU students walked out of their classes and gathered at the Hannah Administration building, despite the 10 degree temperature and brutal wind.
The crowd voiced their contempt regarding the recent controversial actions taken by ICE and DHS in Minneapolis.
The protest was a collective effort organized by 16 student organizations, including Culturas de las Razas Unidas and the College Democrats at MSU. The Students Against ICE walkout was held just 5 days after the death of Alex Pretti, the second U.S. citizen shot and killed by ICE this year following Renée Good’s death on Jan. 7. Spartans aimed to demonstrate student opposition and push for a call to action, according to the official statement from Students Against ICE.
MSU wasn’t the only university that organized an anti-ICE protest, as students at the University of Michigan held a protest of their own on Jan. 30. Similarly to the MSU protest, students walked out of class to demonstrate their opposition to recent decisions made by ICE and the DHS. before flooding the Ann Arbor streets in protest.
Many students delivered speeches outside the Hannah Administration building. Students and leaders demonstrated their anger, including 7th Congressional District Candidate William Lawrence, who is currently running for Congress to represent mid-Michigan. Vivek Kilari, a member of the Democratic Socialist Club on campus, stood before the John Hannah statue and urged the student body to continue to show strength and resilience. In his speech, he shared his personal thoughts and feelings as an immigrant, as Kilari and his parents moved to the U.S. when he was 5 years old.
“We need to take a stand,” Kilari said. “To take action. But even amongst all that, there will be fear. And fear is okay, because bravery is not the absence of fear. It is the presence of strength in the face of it.”
Shortly after, protesters flooded West Circle Drive, their chants ringing out in the streets, marching towards their final destination— the Spartan Statue outside the stadium. Students surrounded the statue, holding up their handmade signs with clear messages: “The wrong ICE is melting” and “No Human is Illegal on Stolen Land”.
