On January 27, University of South Alabama students walked out of class, gathered and marched to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota.
The protest was organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation of Mobile.
Students left class and gathered together at the University of South Alabama Humanities courtyard. Before the protest, and according to publicly available rules, university staff informed the protest organizers that the protest would need to move because all "expressive activities" are not allowed within 100 feet of academic buildings.
Despite this notice, the protest gathered in the courtyard, using megaphones and speakers, and blocking doorways in the enclosed space before finally marching through campus. Many classes were cancelled due to the disruption, and some professors even left class to join the protest outside. The protest continued with just over a hundred students and outside protestors marching through campus carrying foreign flags and signs that read:
“Stop ICE”
“ICE Sashay Away”
“My neck, my back, ICE can lick my bootycrack”
“Destroy ICE”
“ICE are just Nazis in new uniforms”
During the demonstration, protestors also carried a defaced American Flag that had written over it, "There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people." The protest focused on the cases of Nicole Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two citizens who were shot and killed by law enforcement, reportedly acting in self-defense, in Minneapolis last month.
Protesters also accused ICE of "kidnapping" Liam Ramos, a five-year-old held by ICE last month after, according to ICE, his father fled the scene of his stop.
Members of the University of South Alabama Young Americans for Freedom chapter also showed up to counter-protest the demonstration.
"I was yelled at and insulted while walking around the protest to a meeting," said USA YAF chairman Joshua Smith, "And another student near our chapter was fat-shamed just for being there with us."
Smith also said he had a friend whose class was cancelled.
"She paid for class, just for her professor to cancel after everyone showed up, to go join the protest," he said.
Trenton Buffenbarger is a senior at the University of Alabama and is the Chairman of the UA Young Americans for Freedom.
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