Austin, TX – On October 2, about 25 students gathered on UT’s South Lawn for a vigil in commemoration of the families who have been torn apart by ICE in Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The vigil was organized by the Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in order to stand in solidarity with the 200,000-plus people who have been deported since Trump was inaugurated in January of this year.

The vigil consisted of a Mexican-inspired ofrenda with photos of families and individuals who were displaced by this recent wave of deportations. In between moments of silence for these families, members of the organization recounted stories of their previous experiences with ICE and how these current attacks have affected people they know.

One member, Pablo Díaz, said that the photos “aren’t just photos of someone who was taken away, they are photos of families that have been broken apart.” Díaz had finished telling a story about the kids he had previously worked with at an after-school program, and how these kids had been living in fear because of ICE.

SDS member Mia Reballosa spoke regarding the UT administration’s response to these attacks, stating, “The university hasn’t just been silent, they’ve been complicit.” This was in reference to there being sightings of ICE around UT’s campus in late January, as well as multiple UT-system students getting their visas revoked last spring as part of Trump’s attacks on immigrants and international students.

After a series of public comments from others in the crowd, the vigil ended with one last moment of silence.

Austin SDS has spent the past two semesters organizing around immigrant rights for their “ICE Off Campus!” campaign. The organization plans to continue this campaign, pressuring UT’s administration to protect international and undocumented students.

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights #StudentMovement #SDS

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