Xavier Perry walked up to a grassy patch on Hornbake Plaza, phone in hand. About 80 University of Maryland community members stared as he prepared to speak.
“It’s time to take our power back,” the freshman shouted to the crowd on Tuesday afternoon. “We fight and we win — say it with me, now.”
“We fight and we win,” the crowd chanted in unison.
This university’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter held a rally and march to urge campus administration to keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement off campus. A few community members, including Perry, spoke to the crowd about the importance of the university supporting international students and undocumented and immigrant students on campus.
The group then marched from Hornbake Plaza to the Thomas V. Miller Administration building, holding up signs and chanting phrases like, “Say it loud, say it clear: immigrants are welcome here.”
Perry, a computer science and immersive media design major, felt inspired by the crowd’s energy and turnout.
“Someone has to step up,” they said. “It all starts with one person.”
[UMD community members demand sanctuary campus status, non-compliance with ICE]
The group’s petition — which demands that this university declare itself a sanctuary campus — has just fewer than 3,000 signatures. More than a dozen other student organizations including this university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, United Academics of Maryland-University of Maryland and 17 for Peace and Justice co-sponsored the petition.
Declaring sanctuary campus status would require university officials to refuse any acts of compliance with immigration enforcement agencies and alert community members about their presence, the petition read.
It would also require this university to refuse authorization of University of Maryland Police to carry out any immigration enforcement activities, according to the petition. The organizations also demand that the university re-upload webpages with resources for undocumented and immigrant students, which disappeared from Stamp Student Union’s website over the summer.
This university did not comment on whether or not it would consider adopting sanctuary campus status in a Wednesday morning statement.
The university wrote that the International Students and Scholars Services office, which offers individual advising, office hours and other online resources, will continue to support international community members on campus.
Associate communication clinical professor Jade Olson attended Tuesday’s rally to push the university to make a statement. The professor told The Diamondback that she encourages the university to accept the chapter’s petition and pledge not to cooperate with ICE.
“I love my job. But I can’t do my job if my students are scared to go to class,” Olson told the crowd in a speech. “I can’t do my job if my fellow workers, like graduate teaching assistants and my faculty colleagues, are afraid to come to class.”
Olson also emphasized to the crowd that the university is complicit in the crackdowns against international students and academic freedom by not outwardly standing up to protect international community members.
[Prince George’s County community members rally along Route 1 for ‘No Kings’ protest]
Rose Ying, a graduate neuroscience and cognitive science student spoke to the crowd on behalf of the Graduate Labor Union.
Ying demanded the university outwardly offer more support and recognition to international students.
”My friends told me that they live in fear everyday of ICE showing up at their door and taking them away,” Ying said. “I know people who lost weight, who changed their travel patterns to avoid walking home alone or at night because they didn’t want to disappear.”
Nick Cosgrove, the chapter’s co-chair said he was proud of the turnout, especially as the chapter continues to grow.
“Last year, you probably didn’t even know we were on campus,” the sophomore American studies and communication major said. “It’s a huge step forward for us, and I am really proud of everyone for showing up.”
Cosgrove explained that the chapter spent days planning the march. The group alerted the university and UMPD, and created signs and chose speakers to represent their co-sponsors, like Ying.
“This federal government is anti-immigrant, period. It doesn’t matter if you are undocumented or documented,” Ying told the crowd. “UMD needs to stand up for their campus, and it starts by publicly declaring a sanctuary campus.”
