Jacksonville, FL – On Wednesday, August 27, students at the University of North Florida rallied in protest against their university police department joining ICE’s 287(g) task force, a program that gives officers training and authorization to carry out immigration arrests.

The rally, organized by Jacksonville Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), mobilized over a dozen students. Protesters held signs reading, “We say: No UPD/ICE collaboration” and “No human is illegal,” while chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!” Protesters raised demands including declaring UNF a sanctuary campus and pulling university police from the 287(g) task force.

“Let’s call this what it is – an attack on students,” said Angi Alva, a UNF student and member of SDS.

Alva continued, “We do not need university police acting as ICE on campus. This does not make students safer; it only presents a new danger.”

The rally started small but drew a crowd as it progressed. Several students walking by stopped to grab a sign and participate, saying they were glad to see people fighting back against the threat of deportations on campus. Around half a dozen students joined SDS on the spot.

The UNF Police Department submitted a request to join the ICE task force in April but didn’t receive confirmation until late in the summer. UNF administration has tried to keep quiet about the change, with UNF President Moez Limayem claiming university police are carrying out “business as usual” and saying student protesters are overreacting to the news.

However, recent events show the administration is hiding the severity of the threat to students. On the same day as the protest, UNF confirmed two officers were receiving ICE training, but only four days before, Limayem claimed no such training had been scheduled.

SDS Vice President Lorelai Dodge called out university administration on its lack of transparency, saying, “People need to realize admin is not on our side. The only ones we [students] can count on are ourselves.”

In addition to demanding a sanctuary campus, protesters also raised demands including protections for majors and DEI programs amid state budget cuts, as well as demanding divestment from Israel.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #StudentMovement #Trump #SDS

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, August 30, more than 30 Dallas residents gathered at Pan African Connection Bookstore and Resource Center for discussion on socialism as it pertains to the modern People's Republic of China.

Hosted by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, (FRSO), the event was part of a speaking tour led by Sydney Loving, a Central Committee member of FRSO, who spent ten days in China as part of a delegation of Friends of Socialist China.

Loving began the presentation by stating, “75 years of socialist construction. We saw a country that has the largest economy in the world as measured by Purchasing Power Parity, which is a more accurate view than GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, which relies on the stock market and inflates the real economy. China's economy is the largest by industrial manufacturing. Even smaller cities are high-tech and increasingly green, life expectancy is over 78 years which is two years longer than the U.S., and of course where over 800 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty.”

Loving continued, “Thanks to China's socialism they are completing an industrial revolution every decade since the 1980s. China is in the forefront of this new industrial revolution with AI, quantum technology, big data etc. China and the world have changed forever. But despite these advancements China remains controversial in the West, even amongst the left! Believe it or not. So, it's important to seek truth from fact as Mao says.”

Loving expounded on the particular advancements from the five cities she visited, Xi’an, Yan’an, Dunhuang, Jiayu guan and Shanghai.

Loving stated, “We went to Yan’an, which was really the cradle of the revolution from 1935 to 1947. The Red Army re-grouped there after the Long March, and the CPC [Communist Party of China] held the 7th National Congress there, 16 long years after the 6th Congress, because they were fighting Japanese imperialism and the KMT. [Yan’an is] where Mao Zedong Thought was crystalized and adopted. They fought dogmatism and made the decision to be the party of the masses of Chinese people.”

“In Jiayu guan, we visited JISCO, a state-owned steel company that the workers built the whole city around in the 1950s. Today it has 42% green cover, with ponds and parks– remember this is the Gobi Desert, “ said Loving.

“In Shanghai we went to a robotics facility where they demonstrated the advancements for surgery and industry, and a Lenovo factory where they showed off how they’re partnering with the school system to bring advanced tech into rural classrooms,” said Loving.

Loving concluded her presentation by saying, “China is not a utopia, it's a real place. Everything that we saw affirmed that China is continuing to build socialism that centers the people. China is building a future for all of us that is more peaceful and more equal.”

#DallasTX #TX #International #RevolutionaryTheory #China #Socialism

Chicago, IL – On August 28, New Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Illinois at Chicago (New SDS at UIC) led a rally of over 50 students in the UIC Quad and marched through campus chanting “Donald Trump you racist clown – you’re not welcome in this town!” and “When cultural centers are under attack – stand up and fight back!”

This protest was UIC students’ answer to National SDS’ call for a National Day of Action to stand up to Trump, demand no cuts to cultural programs, and no deportations.

Ariana Vega opened the rally on behalf of New SDS at UIC, “If you don’t already know, UIC is an incredibly diverse campus with more than half of its demographic consisting of minority students. We have seven centers for cultural understanding and social change – the Black Cultural Center, Latino Cultural Center, Arab American Cultural Center, Asian American Resource and Cultural Center, Gender and Sexuality Center, Disability Cultural Center, and the Women’s Leadership and Resource Center. These centers exist because of activism of the student movement of previous generations.”

Referring to the lack of funding for cultural centers, Vega said “But UIC administrators and the University of Illinois System as a whole have made it abundantly clear that they will bend to Trump and his administration!”

“As Filipino youth, we must not stay on the sidelines. We must organize,” said Gabby Abacan from Anakbayan at UIC.

Abacan continued. “While education is being cut, while tuition and fees are rising, billions are poured into ICE and the machinery of deportation and detention. Instead of classrooms and community resources, our tax dollars go to tearing families apart.”

“We must fight to keep our culture alive by advocating for Filipino Language Classes at UIC, so that we can communicate and build connections with our families back home and fellow migrants!” said Abacan.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization member Ángel Naranjos said, “Trump’s ultimate goal is to dismantle public education. At the end of this mission, education truly will be only for the rich. But don’t get it twisted – there are real things that we can do to stop this.”

Naranjos continued, “Real resistance will come from people power – from students, faculty, campus workers and unions. The last few years have proved it: Youth and students are ready to fight. If you haven’t joined the student movement yet, there is no better time to start than now!”

Then, Valerie Domrzalski from New SDS at UIC closed the rally by reading a statement from National SDS regarding Trump’s recent attacks on education.

“On July 14, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trump's layoffs of about half of the workforce, 1400 employees, in the Department of Education. National SDS sees these layoffs as an attack on students and federal workers, and are moves made to weaken public education,” she read.

Domrazalski continued, “Since coming into office, Donald Trump and his Secretary of Education Linda McMahon have carried out an agenda that will weaken public education in favor of the privatization of education.”

“Education that is accessible, affordable and meaningful to students is a right that students must be ready to fight for this fall. This incoming school year, National SDS, calls on all students to rise up to defend their education and to protest Trump's agenda!”

The students ended the protest in a militant mood by marching towards the University Hall where the office of UIC’s Chancellor, Dr. Marie Lynn Miranda, is housed. Their march caught the eyes of administrators, campus police and hundreds of students. Many students expressed their appreciation of the protest by chanting along and pumping their fists in solidarity as the activists marched on by.

#ChicagoIL #IL #StudentMovement #Trump #SDS

Los Angeles, CA – On August 30, at 3 p.m., Chicanos, impacted families of police brutality, people raided by ICE and the FBI, along with supporters will in East Los Angeles, for a march, marking the 55th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium.

The march will begin at Sounds of Music record store, the site of what was once the Silver Dollar; a bar where many including LA Times reporter Ruben Salazar took refuge after LAPD and Los Angeles sheriffs mercilessly beat and attempted to disperse participants in the August 29, 1970 Chicano Moratorium. Salazar was killed by LA sheriffs. The moratorium’s demands were ending the Vietnam occupation and equality for Chicanos.

Tomorrow, a large coalition will be commemorating the 55th anniversary of this event and uplifting current demands such as stand with Palestine, ICE out of LA, Chicano self-determination, community control of police, and defend public education.

The coalition is made up of Centro CSO, Union del Barrio, Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles, Jewish Voice for Peace, About Face LA, UTLA, Teamsters, SEIU, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and United Families for Justice, which consists of police killing impacted families of Jeremy Flores, Francisco Núñez and Hugo Cachua.

“I believe it is important to commemorate the 55th Chicano Moratorium, because we once again find ourselves, as a people, in a crucial moment, where staying silent is complicity,” says Centro CSO member and security lead Derek Mejia, “People should be out in the streets on Saturday August 30, standing up against the ICE raids and with Palestine! It is important that we continue and maintain the long history of the Chicano struggle.”

The 55th commemoration will begin at 3 p.m. at the Sounds of Music record store, where attendees will begin marching, and ending at Salazar Park for a rally and entertainment starting at 4:30 p.m. That part of the event will take place at the Whittier Boulevard/Alma Avenue side of the park. The family-friendly event will have free food, water and entertainment.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #Chicano #ChicanoMoratorium #ImmigrantRights #OppressedNationalities #CentroCSO #UniondelBarrio #BlackLivesMatter #JVP #AboutFace #SEIU #Teamsters #UTLA

Decorah, IA – On Monday night, August 4, the Decorah City Council chambers was packed as residents demanded the city move forward with a proposed “separation ordinance” to limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The ordinance, drafted by immigrant rights advocates, would restrict the city from engaging in unnecessary collaboration with ICE. Supporters say it would help protect immigrant communities from harassment, racial profiling and federal overreach.

During public comments, speaker after speaker called on the council to take the first step by placing the proposal on an upcoming agenda for official discussion.

“I’m proud to be one of the many Decorah residents asking you to put the separation ordinance on a future agenda and commit to talking openly and officially,” stated immigrant rights organizer Joshua Ratel-Khan. “This issue deserves daylight. Our city will not be a tool of federal repression. We won’t hand over our time, our labor, our data, or our public dollars to help ICE terrorize our neighbors.”

Community members spoke about the fear spreading among immigrants due to growing anti-immigrant rhetoric and state and federal policies. They outlined the ordinance’s three main goals: reduce unnecessary cooperation with ICE, limit harmful data collection, and establish oversight and transparency.

Several pointed out that similar laws exist in over 200 cities and counties across the U.S., proving such policies are both legal and effective. Others stressed that the draft ordinance is a starting point, not a final product, and could be adapted to meet Decorah’s needs.

While a small number of speakers questioned the legality of certain provisions, they still affirmed their support for immigrants and opposition to discrimination.

Mayor Lorraine Borowski cut off public comment before all speakers could be heard, prompting Ratel-Khan to push for more time so residents’ perspectives could be fully aired. Borowski said there would likely be more opportunities for input in the future.

Because the ordinance was not listed on the August 4 meeting agenda, council members were barred from formal discussion. Still, some thanked residents for speaking out and encouraged continued engagement.

Whether the separation ordinance will be scheduled for future debate remains uncertain, but supporters made it clear they are organized and determined to keep fighting until the city takes action to protect immigrant communities.

#DecorahIA #IA #ImmigrantRights #DCIR #SanctuaryCity #SeparationOrdinance