AMHERST — Witnessing what they see as atrocities and violence being committed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers across the United States, University of Massachusetts students on Friday demanded ICE stay out of the area.
“We don’t think it’s sustainable and don’t think it’s good for our country,” said Devan Judson, co-president of the Students for Sustainable Fashion and Art and organizer of the “Peace Walk: Keep ICE Off Our Streets.”
Citing the ICE operations in Minneapolis, and ICE sightings in Amherst and Northampton, Judson said it’s important to use privilege to speak out and overcome a feeling of being useless, even as the established student organization’s usual focus is on creativity and sustainability, such as organizing a once-a-semester vintage market.
“We wanted to peacefully take action against this,” Judson said.
Co-president Angelica Leu said the Peace Walk was the bare minimum that could be done to improve the country and confront ICE.
“I just don’t think it’s right,” Leu said. “For lack of better words, it pisses me off.”
On a frigid, cloudy afternoon, about 50 students came out for the Peace Walk, first gathering in front of the Student Union and then proceeding from the campus to the North Common in front of Amherst Town Hall.
As the event began, Judson spoke for the organization, describing the Trump administration and ICE as wreaking havoc on their neighbors.
“We are bearing witness to a race war, where Trump thinks he gets to decide who’s an American,” Judson said.
Judson also referenced the horrors of people being kept in detention centers with no access to food or water, including a 5-year-old boy from Minnesota.
“This is not the America we’ve asked for,” Judson said.
Shouting “ICE Out” and “No Hate, No Fear, ICE is not welcome here,” participants then walked for about 30 minutes from UMass to Town Hall, holding signs such as “Immigrants Make America Great” and “ICE Melts Under Resistance.” Numerous passing vehicles honked in support.
Once outside Town Hall, John Bonifaz, an Amherst attorney and founder of Free Speech for People, encouraged the students to be at the Amherst Town Council meeting on Feb. 23, when a resolution will come forward calling on Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and district attorneys to criminally investigate and prosecute, when necessary, ICE agents who engage in unlawful actions.
The message, he said, is that ICE should be abolished. “ICE is a secret police force for Donald Trump,” Bonifaz said.
He then addressed Trump directly.
“You are a lawless, wannabe dictator,” Bonifaz said “You must be impeached and removed from office.”
This marked the second Friday in a row that Bonifaz had spoken to protesters in front of Town Hall, with the previous week an even larger gathering of Amherst College students joined by Amherst Regional High School students, who had a similar message for ICE.
Along with the Peace Walk, the organizers have launched a change.org petition aimed at keeping ICE out of Amherst, described as “a town celebrated for its diversity and sense of inclusivity, especially within the surrounding college communities.”
The petition, which by Friday afternoon had close to 300 signatures, makes an appeal to local leaders and legislative bodies to enact policies prohibiting ICE operations in town, ensuring local law enforcement doesn’t collaborate with ICE and “our commitment to protect our neighbors and reinforce our collective strength” is upheld.
The petition states: “The presence of ICE agents here in Amherst is a threat that is constantly looming. Students who expect to be safe coming to class fear for their lives at the hands of this administration. The nature of ICE agents jeopardizes the bonds we’ve forged as a community, and instills fear and anxiety into a town otherwise thriving on diversity, inclusivity, and learning.”
That petition is at https://c.org/dSRRGZTd2v
Before departing on the march, Lizzie Gormley, a UMass junior, read an original composition titled “What America’s Supposed to Be,” a poem that reflects on her travels abroad in January, and learning that the way immigrants are treated reflects on American values.
“Immigrants are the foundation of this country,” Gormley said
Charles Walker-Hoover, president of the UMass chapter of the NAACP, said ICE should be abolished and cited the terror they have unleashed through “fear, surveillance, family separation and silence.”
“This moment, this walk, reminds us that justice has never been won alone,” Walker-Hoover said.
The event served to educate peers about proactive steps that can be taken if ICE activity is seen locally. This can include calling the LUCE hotline and carrying a whistle to alert others to the presence of ICE.
Not having organized similar events, Judson and Leu said they wanted to do something and get a message out, no matter how many people showed up.
“We’re grateful to have a strong community and like-minded students,” Judson said.
