University of Minnesota (UM) students called for their school to be “shut down” if their administrators do not make it a “sanctuary campus.”
“What do we want?” the lead protest speaker asked a crowd on UM’s campus on Thursday. “Sanctuary campus!” the crowd answered. After the exchange repeated a few times, the lead speaker asked “if we don’t get it?” “Shut it down!” the crowd answered.
The speaker chanting on a megaphone represented the progressive group Students for a Democratic Society (SFDS).
Facing harsh cold weather conditions, SFDS assembled students, faculty, and Minneapolis residents at UM’s Coffman Student Union on campus to protest the university’s compliance with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Some students carried signs saying “no human is illegal,” while another sign read “Students Against The Racist Reactionary Republican Agenda.”
President Donald Trump rescinded the previous administration’s executive order prohibiting ICE raids in locations such as churches, hospitals and schools — a measure that aligns with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan’s vow to have strict immigration enforcement.
Additional chants were shouted during the protest, such as “Up, up with liberation. Down, down with deportation.”
Sasmit Rahman, a member of SFDS, told Fox News Digital that their “campaign” has been focused on “Trump’s agenda, attacks on academic freedoms, reproductive rights, and immigration rights.”
“As seen here, we called this protest in response to our [college] administration saying that they would comply with all orders — all federal orders regarding ICE on campus,” said Sasmit, a senior studying psychology.
She went on to say, “I found it to be just very strange considering the city of Minneapolis, Mayor Frye, and Ilhan Omar went and released a statement literally the day before saying that Minneapolis was a sanctuary city and that ICE was not welcome on campus.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye said last month that he will not work with the Trump administration on deporting illegal immigrants, a stance many of the students had approved of.
A coalition of UM’s Board of Regents, students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and general Minnesota residents signed a petition to “resist current and planned federal and state actions” regarding immigration enforcement.
The petition amassed over 3,000 signatures.
However, UM, a federally funded institution, announced that they “cannot ignore federal court orders or subpoenas,” the UMN Daily reported.
Despite their position on complying with federal law enforcement, UM officials released a memo offering guidance for members of their “community who are affected by immigration policies.”
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Melanie, a political science and Spanish major, told Fox News Digital. Melanie explained further that her parents were immigrants from Mexico.
“There’s a lot of undocumented students, and they’re here to get the education that they deserve because many of their parents probably couldn’t even graduate high school.”
Many other students were concerned about UM’s handling of the deportation issue.
Cedar, a sophomore on a pre-med track, told Fox News Digital that he was “disappointed” by UM’s statement.
“I think that they’re kind of handling it a little roughly right now,” Cedar shared.
Elizabeth, a sociology major, said that while she understands why UM is complying with federal orders, she can “relate” with the “fear and frustration” of the students.
“I also hope that they will take kind of a lenient approach, especially as a lot of international students in the U.S. are on the U of M campus,” she added.
“I think it’s horrible that the (university) is doing what they’re doing. They’re afraid and all they’re going for is the money,” said Robert, an art and anthropology major.
The University of Minnesota declined to speak with Fox News Digital about the matter.
