Hundreds of UC Berkeley students and community members participated Friday in a National Day of Action protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, operations across the country.
The Day of Action follows the Day of Truth and Freedom, a general strike that occurred in Minneapolis last Friday in response to ICE’s killing of Renée Good. Another Minneapolis resident, Alex Pretti, was killed last weekend, and Keith Porter was shot in Los Angeles in December. Six other individuals have died in ICE custody this year.
More than 500 protesters from Berkeley traveled by BART from Downtown Berkeley to Mission Dolores Park in San Francisco, meeting up with tens of thousands of demonstrators. In Berkeley, local businesses organized a walkout, joining community members for a protest in Elmwood.
Students for Socialism, Berkeley Law for Palestine, Cal Young Democratic Socialists of America and Students Organizing for Liberation organized a rally on Crescent Lawn at noon.
Betzy Kammila Herrarte,Mia Ochoa and Nicole Miech, three first-generation college students at UC Berkeley, decided to attend the protest because they felt that “American rights are being targeted,” according to Herrarte. They said the events in Minneapolis make them fear for the community.
“There’s ICE around trying to inflict harm on … people of color,” Miech said. “It’s horrible. It’s a horrible feeling that … people I care about are in danger every day or feel unsafe when they leave the house.”
In addition to UC Berkeley students, a number of students across the Berkeley Unified School District participated in the event, including some from Berkeley High School, Willard Middle School and Oakland High School.
District 7 Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra, in attendance at the Berkeley rally, closed her office for the day in solidarity with the movement. Lunaparra noted that the Berkeley City Council passed items condemning ICE’s actions Tuesday.
“I wanted to come out and show my solidarity not only with those in Minnesota but those all over the nation, including those right here and on campus that are standing up and fighting back,” said District 4 Councilmember Igor Tregub, who was in attendance at the Berkeley rally.
Signs read “your silence will be studied by your grandkids,” “stand with Minneapolis, ice ICE out for good” and “students fight back.” Protesters chanted, “No justice, no peace, no ICE in our streets” and “from Palestine to Mexico, these border walls have got to go.”
UC Berkeley student Nicole May attended the protest in San Francisco with a sign that she painted featuring Liam Ramos, a 5-year-old boy who was detained by ICE in Minnesota. She said she was inspired by UC Berkeley’s history of the Free Speech Movement, adding it “felt wrong not to come out.”
Similarly, UC Berkeley student Gavin McGowan said he initially was unsure if he would attend because of having to miss school, but ultimately decided to join in, saying, “There was no other choice.”
The Day of Action follows the Day of Truth and Freedom, a general strike that occurred in Minneapolis last Friday.
Since President Donald Trump’s reelection, Berkeley community members have been meeting at the corner of College and Ashby avenues to protest, according to community member Andrew Lazarus, a UC Berkeley alum who graduated in 1989.The weekly demonstration is organized by Indivisible Elmwood, a community group founded by Lazarus and Naomi Janowitz.
Local Berkeley businesses also participated in a walkout from 3-4 p.m., later joining the weekly protest.Businesses that participated included Koraa, Slash Denim and 5 Tacos and Beers, among many others.
Claudia Hunka, the owner of Your Basic Bird, said she decided to help organize the walkout with less than 48 hours notice. Some businesses walked out for an hour, while others closed their doors for the rest of the day.
“Our usual crowd has mostly been people in their 70s and 80s … and that’s been very disappointing to me. A lot of us people have been protesting since the Vietnam War … (but today) it was very encouraging for us to see young people organize.” Lazarus said.
About 200 residents held up signs, handed out chocolate, gave away printed patches and passed out informational flyers.
“We are all hurt by this, we are all touched by this,” Hunka said. “It’s good to see people standing up and making their voices heard.”
As a part of the demonstration, Hunka created orange hearts that she gave to community members, with the names and photos of those who have been killed by ICE officers.
Hunka said she was proud of the Elmwood community for attending. She felt that it was important to make a statement regarding ICE operations taking place across the country.
“Don’t give up hope. Our generation is going to be leaving soon and it will be up to them to do better.” Lazarus added on his message for UC Berkeley students.
Ria Raniwala also contributed to this report.