Chants of “from the river to the sea” made their way across campus as around 100 students walked out of class and marched to demand administration make Texas State a sanctuary campus.
Hosted by the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) at TXST, around 100 students met at the Stallions statue at 11:30 to rally and march to the JC Kellam Administration Building, demanding Texas State President Kelly Damphousse make Texas State a sanctuary campus.
Like a sanctuary city, a sanctuary campus is a college campus that protects undocumented immigrants from being deported. YDSA wants Texas State to take actions that would fall in line with a sanctuary campus, according to Allen Dominguez, co-chair of YDSA at TXST.
“[Campus] should be a quote, unquote sanctuary that has legal protection for international students,” Dominguez said. “ICE should not be allowed on campus. If ICE comes on campus, all students should be notified. Privacy of student status should be protected. Political expression for students should be protected.”
Additionally, YDSA is calling for any student who is detained due to their immigration status to get access to online classes, paid time off and legal counsel.
In 2016, over 1,000 students signed a petition to make Texas State a sanctuary campus. However, according to Dominguez, it was deferred because ICE had no precedent to be on campus.
“That’s obviously not true anymore and we need this university to have protections for the international community, for staff, students and faculty or else this can no longer be a safe, inviting institution for these people,” Dominguez said.
The rally started at the Stallions statue, where photos of international college students who were arrested and detained sat at the base of the statue. The U.S. government has revoked student visas and arrested international students for participating in pro-Palestinian protests. According to Christian Scott, member of YDSA at TXST, this issue impacts Texas State directly since there’s a large population of international students.
“They are students who have strong voices and they’re being punished today,” Scott said. “That’s why we got out here today, to really get eyes on the fact that it’s not just them out there…all of these rights can be taken away.”
According to Luiz Osorio, history graduate student, students who rally for Palestine are the ones getting detained, which is troublesome to him.
“They’ve been arresting all these people without trials, without due process, just because they’re immigrants…,” Osorio said. “We’re seeing it right now when the demonization of Palestine is being used to persecute politically active immigrants.”
After the rallyists met up at the Stallions, they walked to the JC Kellam building, where Damphousse’s office is. They marched around the perimeter while chanting to demand Damphousse to make Texas State a sanctuary campus.
“Palestine may be far away and we will make our voice heard regardless,” Diane Nolasco, psychology junior said. “But also, the university is right here and we should make our voice heard on our campus.”
YDSA at TXST handed out resources that contained information for international students, such as how they can know their rights and how to maintain their safety.
“Texas State is a community of friendship, of mentorship and love,” Dominguez said. “Immigrants in this community are the backbone of us.”
San Marcos City Council will vote on a ceasefire resolution at its April 15 meeting.
