By Caeden McConnell
INDIANAPOLIS – Students around the state of Indiana gathered at Monument Circle in Indianapolis on Feb. 13 to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The event, Students Against ICE, was organized by a 17-year-old high school student from Indianapolis who is an immigrant. About 40 to 50 students attended, holding signs and chanting.
During the protest, the student organizer delivered a speech explaining her motivation. She described being picked on by her classmates for being born in another country before moving to Indianapolis.
This dehumanizing behavior she experienced as a kid, she said, motivated her to advocate for herself and others with similar experiences. The Students Against Ice protest grew directly out of that desire.
One of the speakers was Stephen Lang, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
“It is important for students to stand up for their first amendment rights,” Lang said.
Lang, who comes from a predominantly Black and Latino community in Indianapolis, pointed out the compassion of his immigrant neighbors. When he was sick, he said, many of them helped him and even brought him groceries without being asked. Lang said he would like to see his great immigrant neighbors stay in his neighborhood.
One protester, Jeremy, attended the event with his wife and child, holding a sign featuring a crossed-out swastika.
“I have a certain vision I would like to see,” Jeremy said. “One including freedom, democracy, a healthy nation in which people live freely and take care of their community.”
However, what Jeremy is now seeing is far different.
“Oppression, fascism, people being detained and arrested without due process, people being harmed, beaten, killed, for seemingly no reason,” Jeremy said.
He added that what he is seeing is hurtful and scary, and that he hopes for change.
No members of the Department of Homeland Security or ICE were present at the protest. However, several police officers blocked nearby streets to allow protesters to assemble safely. Attempts to interview DHS officials before the event were unsuccessful, with multiple contacts referring inquiries elsewhere. Emails sent to DHS received no response.
A photographer present at the protest, Chris, a second-generation American, said he attended out of concern for himself, his family and his community.
Chris found out about the protest from a social media post. He said that many people in his family and community come from another country, and he wants to see them stay where they are now living.
Chris simply asked that ICE have more empathy and that more people become aware of the situation. He understands that the immigrant issue doesn’t affect every American, but almost everybody knows a person that could be profiled based on the color of their skin, or how they look.
Lang, Chris and Jeremy shared a similar message when asked what they would like to say directly to an ICE agent:
“I would tell them to quit their job,” Lang said.
“Quit, put your gun down, go home and apologize to your spouse,” Jeremy stated.
“Just got to calm the f*** down man, there is no reason to be doing all this,” Chris said.
Many protestors at the event had such strong emotion over the issue. In one way or another, the issue has affected them personally. Through chanting, speeches, holding signs, and the honking of passing cars, the event reflected that this community can really come together as one.