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On Feb. 5, a group of SDSU students joined SDSU\u2019s MEChA\u2019s organized protest<\/a> at the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union holding signs reading \u201cAbolish ICE\u201d and \u201cImmigrants make this country great,\u201d while chanting in unison, \u201cICE! ICE! They got to go,\u201d in protest of the Trump administration and its new immigration policy.<\/p>\n Many SDSU students have been vocal about their political stances regarding the Trump administration and the immigration raids occurring in San Diego and nationwide. But after thedeaths of Alex Pretti<\/a> and Renee Good<\/a>, many students say they are afraid to actively participate in protests.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw the video of what happened in Minnesota<\/a> and it was definitely hard to see,\u201d said Kalixzta Mercado, an SDSU student. \u201cThey\u2019re doing it to people on the street trying to help. The fact that this is the state of our world currently really sucks. I\u2019m a little scared now.\u201d<\/p>\n Many people say they are afraid to attend protests based on what they have seen on social media and in news broadcasts. Some demonstrations have turned violent after police and immigration officers escalated otherwise peaceful gatherings. Many fear they could be injured or even killed if they attend.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore, protests were more like fighting for your rights,\u201d Mercado said. \u201cBut now with more enforcement like police, they\u2019re just acting with aggression. That has deterred me from going to any protests regarding ICE. Now they can just profile you and hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n Many local San Diego businesses have aligned themselves with values that oppose the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies, hosting events and fundraisers supporting the Abolish ICE movement as a way to protest peacefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n These businesses support programs, such as the ACLU Immigrants\u2019 Rights Project<\/a> and Border Angels\u2019 Familia Reunida Community Fund<\/a>, to help people affected by ICE raids.<\/p>\n Sew Loka<\/a>, a sewing studio and local business in Logan Heights, is well known for hosting community events focused on fashion and sewing.<\/p>\n On Jan. 30, owner Claudia Rodriguez-Biezunski partnered with Material Happiness<\/a> to host a stitch-in protest in solidarity with nationwide protest demonstrations<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Participants made patches and banners to bring to future protests. After she posted about the event on Instagram, many local businesses and creators reached out to collaborate.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cAt our stitch-in protest patches, we had 1820 Coffee \u2014 they reached out the day before and asked if they could serve coffee at our event. People started jumping on the bandwagon, and started donating to our events,\u201d says Rodriguez-Biezunski.<\/p>\n When asked about local San Diego businesses supporting the Abolish ICE movement, Karla Chaj, one of the presidents of the SDSU MEChA club, said, \u201cWhen we support local businesses, we support businesses that support us. That\u2019s important because when we know where our money goes \u2014 then we have a say in how it\u2019s used \u2014 we\u2019re uplifting our community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n