Students protest recent DOE cuts and ICE arrests

Flags and cardboard signs waved in protest last Friday afternoon as students gathered in front of Montana Hall to speak out against recent cuts to the Department of Education (DOE) and the deportation of international students in the U.S., according to the demonstration’s organizer Trista Redfield.

During the event, Redfield stood in front of Montana Hall with a sign that read “Animal Farm isn’t supposed to be real” and talked to passersby curious about the demonstration. Meanwhile, other protesters held a pride flag that read “Make America free again.”

Redfield also set up a table during the protest where individuals could write letters of concern to Montana’s senators and representatives. “Hopefully, we’ll have enough letters to bombard their offices; that’s the goal,” she said.

According to the protest’s website, the demonstration comes, in part, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department had revoked 300 or more student visas, according to a March 28 press release.

According to Rubio, individuals’ visas were revoked due to their involvement with activities “counter” to U.S. foreign policy. These include affiliation with pro-Palestinian protests, having a criminal record or potential relation to criminal activity.

The protest’s website also said the demonstration was organized to push back against the shuttering of the DOE. On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that stated: “The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.”

Members of MSU’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) were also present at the protest. “The DOE is a very important issue with me; I can only go to university because of Pell Grants and student loans,” said SDS member Marcus Barry. SDS is a national student activist organization founded in the 1960s. The MSU chapter of SDS was formed this semester by Julian Staggs, who also serves as president.

“There’s this risk to international students if they do [exercise free] speech, someone might come and arrest them,” Staggs said. “So what we want to do here today is say hey, that’s wrong. Even if you’re an immigrant or international student, the First Amendment applies to you.” According to Indiana University, international students have rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

“The University did come out and say that students have a right to protest on campus, but it’s not the universities who are doing this disciplinary action against students, it’s the federal government themselves,” Staggs said. “[We] want our University to say it’s wrong for the federal government to go after students for their free speech.”

Staggs cited ICE’s recent detention of pro-Palestinian protestors Khalil Mahmoud and Rumeysa Ozturk as examples of the Trump administration infringing on international students’ right to free speech. Ozturk is a Turkish citizen on a student visa in the U.S., while Mahmoud holds a green card, according to CNN and Time Magazine.

“It’s scary to know that if you’re not a citizen but you are partaking in civic duty here, you can get punished for it and be removed,” Barry said.

“Now is the time,” Staggs said. “It's not going to get any easier. The sooner we organize, the better and more effective it will be.”

To learn about free speech on MSU’s campus, visit https://www.montana.edu/freespeech/.

To access more information on MSU’s SDS chapter, visit its Instagram @sdsmontanastate.