Students celebrate Homeland Security dropping out of career fair, maintain position against ICE at protest
By Victoria Rivera, Contributing Writer
Towson University’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America organized an “ICE Out of TU” rally Wednesday calling on Towson to provide students clear guidelines on dealing with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and that Towson declare itself a sanctuary campus.
Starting at 3 p.m. roughly 150 protesters gathered across from Tiger Plaza. On Monday, 21 student organizations endorsed the rally on social media.
The Young Democratic Socialists of America, known as YDSA, also initially demanded that Towson remove Homeland Security Investigations from the Towson March career fair, which is ICE’s largest investigative division. Hours before the rally, a Towson spokesperson said in an email to The Towerlight that HSI had chosen to not participate in the career fair.
YDSA Chair Davis Payton said the rally continued because its other demands still stood.
“We want Towson to declare itself a sanctuary campus, have an explicit statement in support of undocumented immigrants,” Payton said. “Not just like we see you, we hear you, we stand with you, but actually like we will protect you.”
Tensions over ICE’s presence at colleges increased after the Trump administration recently threw out a longstanding federal policy that prevented immigration officers from arresting undocumented immigrants at sensitive locations like K-12 schools and colleges.
For two hours the demonstrators chanted in both English and Spanish, celebrating keeping ICE out of the career fair.
“They did pull out of it, so it was victorious. It was a huge success,” said Nicole Fabrican, a Towson professor of Anthropology who attended the protest.
The Latin American Student Organization that created a “Keep ICE Out of Towson” petition last week to remove HSI from the career fair also attended the protest.
Organizers handed out information on undocumented immigrants rights. Protesters held signs and banners while across the road onlookers stopped to watch the protest.
Two Towson alumni from the graduating class of 1983 joined the protest.
“We did all of this in college a long time ago and we’re sorry we have to do it again,” Towson alumni Patty Nicholls said. “We never believed our country would be like this. Ever.”
Payton said YDSA would continue to voice concerns over ICE’s potential presence on campus.
