Austin, TX – On Saturday, March 28, over 10,000 people rallied for No Kings Day, to protest against Trump’s agenda. After a march beginning at Austin City Hall, protesters gathered at Auditorium Shores for a rally featuring over 80 organizations tabling, many of them giving speeches and teach-ins throughout the event.

Jesse Valdelamar from the immigrant rights organization, La Frontera Unida, said, “Today was a great day. Austin came out in force today to let Trump and his lackeys in the governor’s office know that we will not stay idle as they trample over our rights.”

Ellie James from Austin Students for a Democratic Society said, “We are here to take a stand against the conservative agenda being forced upon UT Austin’s academic curriculum.”

During the rally, several unions and organizations spoke on a labor panel, focused on how workers and their unions are fighting back.

Taylor Carriker-Cavin, a panelist speaking on behalf of Education Austin, said, “Teachers’ unions across the country have been going on strikes successfully, winning things for their unions, for their workers, for their students, and for their families at home. Education Austin is building toward that, but we cannot do it alone.”

“We need the support,” Carriker-Cavin continued, “of all of your community organizations.”

Later in the same panel, Jules Lattimore of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “We need to change economic struggle into class struggle. Take a local struggle about say, wages, benefits, or working hours, and transform that into an avenue for not just a fight against your own boss, but against the billionaires in your city, and against the police that are working for them.”

Lattimore continued, “We need unity in action to get out of this mess where we are always on the defensive from the billionaires, from the capitalists. We also need a new system that has us, the working class, in charge. And that’s only possible through the science of Marxism-Leninism.”

#AustinTX #TX #NoKings #PeoplesStruggles #ImmigrantRights

Austin, TX – Around 30 people rallied at Austin City Hall Saturday afternoon, March 21, against the Austin Police Department (APD) collaboration with ICE.

Jesse Valdelamar of La Frontera Unida, the group that organized the rally, said that the city of Austin canceled its contract last June with the company Flock Safety. This came after community pressure over the presence of Flock surveillance cameras, which ICE has used to obtain data on immigrants.

La Frontera Unida is a member organization of the Legalization For All Network. Valdelamar explained, “The demand ‘Legalization for All’ offers real, permanent relief for immigrants. Unlike the incomplete demand of ‘abolish ICE,’ ‘legalization for all’ would integrate the undocumented into the labor force, make it easier for immigrants to form labor unions, protect immigrants irrespective of nationality against the threat of deportation, and it will never expire.”

Michael Luxemburg, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace Austin, spoke about the role of the APD in protecting the rich and their property.stating, “Those same guardians of capital are welcoming” ICE into the city. “They’re doing it behind our backs using Flock information from other cities. And they’re doing it openly, collaborating in the streets.”

Paul Vonder Haar of Hands Off Central Texas said, “We don’t want another dime to go to ICE.” He continued to say we need to “make it so that when they come, they will have the fight of their lives.”

Jake Holtzman of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “At the same time, as we continue to fight against Trump’s agenda of mass deportations, we also recognize that Trump represents the system of monopoly capitalism. This whole system of capitalism must be overthrown and replaced by a system made by and for working and oppressed people. And that system is socialism!”

The Off Hand Brass Band played songs of protest, such as Which Side Are You On, between speeches and as the rally came to a close.

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights

Austin, TX – On Sunday, February 22, around a dozen people gathered in front of Austin City Hall to demand that the city create a policy preventing local police from collaborating with ICE. People driving by honked and shouted in support as they saw the group holding a banner reading, “ICE out! Legalization for all.”

Jesse Valdelamar of La Frontera Unida said that the group showed up “to protest against the collaboration taking place between the Austin Police Department and ICE.”

On February 5, the Austin Police Department (APD) held a community meeting concerning policy changes overt how APD officers will interact with ICE. Valdelamar called this meeting “nothing more than a PR stunt,” and he said, “Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis knew that no reordering of her words will ever change the fact that APD and the city council have capitulated completely to the racist and Republican-controlled state legislature without a fight.”

Valdelamar continued, “The city of Austin ended its contract with Flock, a company that sells license plate reader technology and is known to give its surveillance data to ICE. Despite this, APD continues to use Flock cameras maintained by two neighboring agencies in Round Rock and Sunset Valley.”

La Frontera Unida, the organization that called the protest, is starting a campaign to prevent this and other collaboration between APD and ICE.

Jake Holtzman of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “At the end of the day, as we continue to fight against ICE terror and Trump’s racist agenda, we also recognize that Trump represents an entire rotten system – the system of monopoly capitalism. This whole system must be overthrown!”

Holtzman continued, “So let’s unite to stop the deportations, and stop the raids. Let’s build the mass movement together to kick ICE out of Austin, ICE out of everywhere, and win legalization for all!”

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights #LFU

Austin, TX – On Friday, March 13, around 20 students rallied in front of the Student Services Building at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) in support of students targeted by UT administration for protesting against Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” and the consolidation of ethnic and gender studies departments.

This rally was organized by Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) for the defense of Daniel Ramirez, who is currently facing the possibility of suspension. Daniel Ramirez, who is also a member of Austin SDS, addressed the crowd before walking into his suspension hearing, pointing out, “This repression will not stop us. While repression doesn’t mean we’re winning, it means they’re scared of us.”

As Ramirez walked into the Student Services Building, the crowd cheered him on, chanting, “We want justice you say how, drop all the charges now,” “No more secrets, no more lies, student voices will never die!” and “The students united, will never be defeated!”

Elise James, a member of Austin SDS, elaborated on why Austin SDS felt compelled to protest against the university administration. James said, “For most of its history, UT has pushed its students to protest because they do not care about us. We have to make them listen.” She challenged the university’s narrative, saying, “To the people who tell us we should have been respectful, we were. We have been trying to reach them for months, but they did not listen.”

Jesse Valdelamar, a member of La Frontera Unida, spoke on the effect consolidation will have on the ability for Chicanos to learn about their own history, stating, “UT President Jim Davis and his lackeys want Tejanos to forget about our history, to forget about the pain and suffering that’s we’ve had to endure, and above all, to not be proud about who we are.”

Mia Reballosa, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “The university is making millions of dollars from oil and exploitative contracts with sweatshops. They also hire war hawks and war criminals.”

Reballosa continued, “When we are repressed, we need to double down. We need to be bolder. We need to let the university know that we won’t back down.”

Despite the repression, Austin SDS plans to continue its campaign against department consolidation.

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #SDS #PoliticalRepression

Austin, TX – On Saturday, March 8, at noon, around 80 people gathered in front of the Texas Capitol building to rally for International Women’s Day.

“Today, all around the globe, we join our sisters,” said Sofie Gomez, of Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the group that hosted the rally.

Gomez continued, “We march to continue to fight and demand our rights here in conservative Texas. Those politicians up there in the capitol will keep moving the goal post, taking away, and doing what they want with our bodies. Shame! For decades, women have fought hard just to have their voices heard. Black and Chicana women, even more so, have been fighting constantly against these systems that oppress all women.”

Cynthia Treviño, with La Frontera Unida, said, “Chicanas have a proud history of struggle that we can look back on to remind us that our voices, our ideas, and our actions have impact and make changes.”

Treviño gave the example of Emma Tenayuca, who led thousands in the 1938 San Antonio pecan shellers strike. Treviño said, “The strike was not easy. They were faced with imprisonment, clubbing and tear gas. Yet throughout the hardships, Tenayuca and her co-workers persisted. After two months of striking, management relented and the workers won the right to form a union.”

Mia Reballosa of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “This Women’s Day, there is still much to fight for. For every dollar earned by U.S. men with a master’s degree, U.S. women earn 70 cents, while immigrant women earn just 55 cents. Trans women face significantly higher mortality rates with most violence being directed towards Black trans women.”

Reballosa continued, “These attacks on women are not just consequences of the patriarchy. They are consequences of the exploitation that is bred by capitalism. Capitalism has destroyed our lives. Overseas, it is killing our sisters in Iran, Palestine, Cuba, Venezuela, and wherever else U.S. imperialism has decided to wage a war for profit.”

The crowd cheered as Reballosa said, “Sisters, we need to shape a radically different future. One where women and men are not only treated equally but are no longer exploited. We need a future where our sisters in war-torn countries are safe from U.S. imperialism. Where our trans sisters can be free of death. We need liberation! We need a socialist future, sisters, and we must be the ones to fight for that!”

Toga Pendrake, a member of IBEW Local 520, said, “I want everyone here to think about what they’re going to do in the following weeks, about how we’re going to keep advancing this agenda.” Pendrake, like many of the other speakers, called on everyone in the crowd to join organizations and continue the struggle beyond International Women’s Day.

#AustinTX #TX #InternationalWomensDay #SDS

Austin, TX – On February 26, at 5 p.m., around 80 students, faculty and university affiliates gathered at the South Lawn of the University of Texas at Austin to protest the recent announcement of the elimination of the departments of Mexican-American and Latino Studies, African and African Diaspora Studies, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and American Studies. The departments will lose departmental status and be consolidated into a new department of Social and Cultural Analysis.

The protest was organized by the Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). They demanded a stop to this elimination and more transparency when it comes to major changes to the university.

Sofie Gomez, a member of Austin SDS, began the protest, stating, “Women like Bell Hooks fought and challenged academic settings like this. Fought for visibility. Fought to be put in our place. And she is being taught in these courses! They don’t want us to sharpen our minds with this wisdom. They don’t want queer people to be visible in academic settings!”

After a series of chants, students led the protest into a march around campus. They stopped at the Dorothy L. Gebauer Building, where the office of the College of Liberal Arts is located, to continue chants.

Dr. Karma Chavez, department chair of Mexican-American and Latino Studies, said, “This is an unprecedented time, where [University of Texas President Jim Davis] can make these decisions, without consulting any of the department heads, and decline public comment.” She highlighted the difficulty faculty have had in communicating with upper administration and the need for students to advocate for these departments to stay.

Mia Reballosa, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, “The only way we can win a better future is to continue to fight. Continue to make our voices heard because there is no other solution. These departments were won through long term, protracted advocacy from students and faculty, so we must continue to defend them. We have to continue to voice our demands. The only way we can win is to fight back, to organize, and be persistent.”

The students then marched to Gregory Plaza and finished off the protest with a series of chants such as, “We don’t want consolidation! We demand representation! We don’t want elimination! Hands off our education!”

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #SDS

Austin, TX – On Sunday, February 22 at 3 p.m., around a dozen people gathered in front of Austin City Hall to demand that the city create a policy preventing local police from collaborating with ICE. People driving by honked and shouted in support as they saw the group holding a banner reading, “ICE out! Legalization for all.”

Jesse Valdelamar of La Frontera Unida said that the group showed up “to protest against the collaboration taking place between the Austin Police Department and ICE.”

On February 5, the Austin Police Department (APD) held a community meeting concerning policy changes over how APD officers will interact with ICE. Valdelamar called this meeting “nothing more than a PR stunt,” and he said, “Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis knew that no reordering of her words will ever change the fact that APD, and the city council, have capitulated completely to the racist and Republican-controlled state legislature without a fight.”

Valdelamar continued, “The city of Austin ended its contract with Flock, a company that sells license plate reader technology and is known to give its surveillance data to ICE. Despite this, APD continues to use Flock cameras maintained by two neighboring agencies in Round Rock and Sunset Valley.”

La Frontera Unida, the organization that called the protest, is starting a campaign to prevent this and other collaboration between APD and ICE.

Jake Holtzman of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “At the end of the day, as we continue to fight against ICE terror and Trump’s racist agenda, we also recognize that Trump represents an entire rotten system – the system of monopoly capitalism. This whole system must be overthrown!”

Holtzman continued, “So let’s unite to stop the deportations, and stop the raids. Let’s build the mass movement together to kick ICE out of Austin, ICE out of everywhere, and win legalization for all!”

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights #LFU #FRSO #ICE #Featured

Austin, TX – The Austin Immigrant Rights Action Committee (AIRAC) hosted a speakout on Saturday, February 7, in response to the call put out by the Legalization for All Network for a National Day of Action in solidarity with Minneapolis.

A dozen community members gathered at the south steps of the Texas capitol, maintaining the call for justice for victims of ICE terror and reiterating their demand for an end to local police collaboration with ICE.

After leading a round of chants, Jesse Valdelamar of AIRAC stated, “Around the country, people are demanding real change from our government. What has Mayor Kirk Watson done about the raids and police collaboration with ICE?” The crowd responded resolutely, “Nothing!”

Chants of “No cages! No raids!” and “Fuck ICE!” were met with enthusiasm by passersby and tourists, some of whom stopped to join in the chants, and drivers stopped at the nearby intersection honked and rolled down their windows to shout their approval.

Mia Reballosa of Austin Students for a Democratic Society said, “The past has shown us time and time again that the people are the ones who win. When communities come together to fight for one another, to care for one another, that’s when we are able to overcome these conditions of fear, death and violence. ICE out of Austin! ICE out of Texas!”

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights #AIRAC #L4A

Austin, TX – Around 100 people gathered Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Texas Capitol to protest the ICE murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, and Trump’s ongoing campaign of deportations, raids and ICE terror against immigrants across the country.

Jesse Valdelamar, of the Austin Immigrant Rights Action Committee, led the rally. He kicked things off with a round of energetic chants such as, “When ICE attacks, we fight back,” and “No more ICE, no more walls, free our families, free them all!”

Sofia Gomez of Austin Students for a Democratic Society told the crowd, “They call other human beings aliens, ICE using children as bait. Shame! Uncle Sam has no conscience. These systems function like they were meant to.”

Gomez continued, “But don’t be discouraged. We have the power to change this. We are the majority. We have air in our lungs, and we have the power to fight!”

Sameeha Risvi, civic engagement coordinator from CAIR Texas, said, “The people showing their faces, chanting in the streets, and demanding justice are not the danger. If we want to talk about rogue, masked agents, let’s talk about ICE. ICE operates in masks. ICE refuses accountability. ICE tears families apart in the shadows, and then calls it law enforcement.”

Risvi told multiple stories of immigrants who have been separated from their families, brutalized, detained, or killed at the hands of ICE agents.

Reflecting back on the George Floyd uprising in 2020, Jesse Valdelamar said, “We cannot let Alex Pretti and Renee Good die in vain. Remember that just six years ago, the people were able to send Trump and his lackeys on the run. We can and will do it again!”

Valdelamar ended off his speech with a call to action, “If you want to make a real impact and change the terrible direction this country is going, then join an organization and build the real movement on the streets!” The crowd responded with a resounding, “¡Sí, se puede!”

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights #AIRAC #SDS #CAIR #AlexPretti

Austin, TX – On Friday, January 9, around 150 people rallied in front of the gates of the Texas Capitol building in protest of the killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis two days earlier.

The Austin Immigrant Rights Action Committee and Austin Students for a Democratic Society called the action. 

Jesse Valdelamar from the Austin Immigrant Rights Action Committee kicked off the action with a series of chants including, “No cages! No cages! No raids! No raids!”

Valdelamar told the crowd, “Trump doesn’t want us coming together like this. But do you know what would really upset him? If regular working class people, not billionaires, were to come together and create good fighting organizations that don't disappear when the action is over, but persist. Good fighting organizations which resist the terror brought upon us by Trump and his lackeys. Good fighting organizations which advance, rather than retreat. The single most important thing you can do is to join the real movement in the street which is trying to change the current order of things. What the world needs right now are hardworking activists who are compelled to take risks, just like Renee.”

Daniel Ramirez, from the Freedom Road Organization said, “Once we take a look past the U.S.’s lies about immigrants, the truth is laid bare about how our immigration system is built in such a way that there exists a significant divide between the rights of those with citizenship and those without. This is clear. But what this means, and what the capitalists don’t want you to know, is that there exists a substratum of people that are hyper exploited, to raise corporate profits. Undocumented immigrants are, in large part, stuck in the gig economy, completely barred from fighting for better conditions and wages through unions.”

Mia Reballosa, a member of Austin Students for a Democratic Society, ended the rally with a fighting message, stating, “Right now is the time to defend our communities, our friends, our families, and our neighbors. As students and community members, we must come together and continue to demand ICE leave our homes and end this crusade of suffering. More than anything, ICE and their handlers in the White House wish that we would stay silent. What they want is if we stay quiet. If we stayed submissive. If we kept our heads down and stuck to our work or our school. But let me ask you this, when our homes are under attack, when our schools are under attack, when our friends and neighbors are under attack, when our families are under attack, when our livelihood is under attack, what do we do?” The crowd responded with a booming, “Stand up, fight back!”

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights #ReneeGood #AIRAC#SDS #FRSO

Austin, TX – On January 4, about 275 people took to the streets in front of the City Hall in Downtown Austin to protest the American military aggression directed against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. This rally was organized in response to the brazen kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro.

This illegal kidnapping represented a major escalation in the war being waged against the Bolivarian Republic. In the months before this attack, the U.S. government killed at least 87 people in the Caribbean Sea in the name of combatting “narcoterrorism” and waged economic warfare and authorized covert operations against the Bolivarian state.

Jesse Valdelamar, who spoke on behalf of the Austin Immigrant Rights Action Committee, said, “This kidnapping is the desperate action of a dying empire.”

Jake Holtzman, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said, “We here in the U.S have a responsibility to put pressure on the U.S government. Just as millions protested in the streets against the war on Iraq, now we must protest against this war on Venezuela.” He then finished his speech by chanting “No war on Venezuela!”

Gumbo Vedros, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, spoke on how “the President, the oligarchs all hate us” and how “they didn’t even bother to manufacture consent with this war.” Vedros ended his speech with a defiant stance: “We call it an American war machine, and like all machines, it can be broken.”

The rejection of prevailing media narratives formed a common thread in all speeches given that day.

The rally was brought to a finish with protesters chanting for an end to the war, an end to the economic sanctions, and for respect of Venezuelan national sovereignty. The organizers stressed the need for Austinites to organize locally in order to build up the anti-war movement and to resist U.S led war and military aggression.

#AustinTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela

Austin, TX – On November 20, Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a speak out against a U.S. war on Venezuela. A group of students and faculty gathered for speeches at the George Washington statue on the University of Texas campus

The action was part of the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) National Week of Action, called in response to the Trump administration’s missile attacks against Venezuela.

SDS Member Bryce Grigsby stated, “Trump and the U.S. government know that Venezuela does not smuggle drugs. It is just an excuse to target Venezuela for its large oil reserves.”

Grigsby continued, “The U.S. government is continuing a tradition of capitalist and imperialist actions because it wants to steal Venezuela's resources. Greed and the need to overconsume in this capitalist economy cause the death and suffering of people in Venezuela and other areas.”

The students chanted “Hands off Venezuela!” and “From Venezuela to Iran, no more sanctions, no more bombs!”

After a few more chants, SDS Member Ellie James finished off the speak out, saying, “The U.S. shouldn’t have the power to pick and choose leaders of sovereign nations based on what suits its interests. We will not let Trump’s military excursions be another score in the U.S.’s brutal and cruel history of imperialism in South America.”

Austin SDS, as well as National SDS, continues to stand in solidarity against the United States’ attacks on Venezuela. The Trump administration is attempting to manufacture consent for a military invasion of Venezuela. However, the American student movement remains firm in opposing U.S.-led war and intervention in Latin America.

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #SDS #AWAn

Austin, TX – On November 19, a group of around 30 UT Austin students and alumni rallied at the UT Systems Building during the UT board of regents meeting. Students are demanding that UT deny Trump’s Compact on Higher Education, which would slash gender and ethnic studies programs, lower international student enrollment, and limit academic freedom.

A small group of students went inside the meeting to give testimony in opposition to Trump’s compact, while some of the crowd continued to rally outside the building. Booming chants like, “Reject! Rise up! UT does not belong to Trump,” continued outside, echoing through the streets of downtown Austin.

Neto Longoria, a graduate student at UT Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, was one of the speakers at the rally, saying, “What is happening today with the Trump compact is a travesty.”

Longoria continued, “The Latino Studies department and the African and African Diaspora Studies department are some of the best in the country. For them to consolidate these under American Studies is a shame. Why are we considering this compact anyway? UT has plenty of money.”

After three students gave testimony inside at the board of regents meeting, they returned outside to rejoin the rally. One of these speakers, Mia Reballosa, a student organizer with Austin SDS, said, “The administration can pretend to listen to us, they can pretend to care about what they want. But at the end of the day, they are still unwilling to make any real changes. So that is why we’re here today, and we are not going to stop demanding that the administration listens to students and does something for once that students actually want!”

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #SDS

Austin, TX – On November 7, around 200 students gathered by the UT Tower in opposition to Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which would effectively cede more control of the university and its academic programs to the Trump administration.

The action was organized by Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) as a continuation of their campaign to demand that the administration reject Trump’s compact. The Compact threatens ethnic and gender studies, limits enrollment of international students, and generally threatens academic freedom and free speech on campus.

Students and faculty members held signs with messages such as “Do not sign” and “Reject the Compact.” In between chants, various members of SDS and the UT Graduate Workers Union gave speeches during the rally.

SDS member Parker Oehler said, “The consolidation of the departments at our university and admin’s refusal to reject the compact are affronts to our freedoms and the values that our university stands for,” in reference to the administration’s plans to gut various ethnic and gender studies programs by consolidating them into a singular department.

Oehler continued, “If our administration is unwilling to stand up for the ideals of this school, to protect our freedoms, to keep this school as prominent, as successful as it is, then we, as students, must do so for them.”

The rally soon turned into a march, with protesters beginning to march around the UT Tower, chanting “Do not sign!” After circling around the tower, chants continued before a group went inside to demand a meeting with the administration over a list of student demands. Once there, the administration declined to meet with students or faculty, so they returned outside and rejoined the crowd.

SDS member Mia Reballosa ended the protest, saying, “All these decisions are being made right now behind closed doors, without the consent of faculty, graduate students, or undergraduate students, and that’s not okay. Whether the compact is rejected or not, we’ll keep fighting!”

Austin SDS plans to continue organizing against Trump’s compact and to demand that the administration not capitulate to Trump’s reactionary and racist agenda.

#AustinTX #TX StudentMovement #SDS #Trump #Feature

Austin, TX – On October 20, roughly 200 students, faculty and community members took to the streets at the University of Texas at Austin to reject Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”. This march followed on the momentum of an earlier rally which took place on October 13.

Trump’s compact offers preferential federal funding in exchange for a list of demands that the university must uphold, such as cutting DEI programs, limiting academic freedom, putting caps on international student enrollment, and more. In particular, the Black, Latino, and Gender Studies departments of the College of Liberal Arts are in danger of being eliminated.

The varied backgrounds of those who gave speeches during this march reflect the broad coalition that Trump’s attacks on higher education have welded together to resist the compact.

Elijah Rivera, a member of Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), spoke on how Trump “sought to impose rigid definitions on gender” and how “instead of embracing the melting pot, he advances a racist agenda.” Rivera ended his speech, “It is up to us to demand that they do not sign. We the students are the life of this university; we must take action!”

Samaria Taylor, a member of Not Our Texas, spoke about DEI, saying, “this university administration has been made puppets of the right, the stage has been set for a reeling back on academic freedom.” She warned, “we cannot let them cheapen what it means to be part of this university.”

Sean Felipe, a member of the University Democrats, spoke on the attacks on the transgender community, saying, “they want to pretend we don’t exist, even though I’m right here.” Felipe emphasized that “none of us are free until all of us are free,” and finished with a defiant call to action: “When gender studies are under attack, what do we do? Stand up and fight back!”

Activists were united in defending their common interests and making a united stand against the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education.

Of the nine universities offered the compact on October 2, seven have already rejected it, while the University of Texas at Austin remains noncommittal. The Trump administration has set a November 21 deadline for universities to decide whether to sign.

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #SDS

Austin, TX – On October 13, over 200 students, faculty, staff and community members at the University of Texas at Austin gathered at the main tower to reject the compact agreement that Trump’s administration sent to nine universities on October 2.

This compact offers preferential federal funding in exchange for a list of demands that the university must uphold, such as cutting DEI programs, limiting academic freedom, putting caps on international student enrollment, and more.

One administration demand states that the university must eliminate departments that “punish conservative ideas.” Translated into reality, this means that departments that study topics that run against the administration’s far-right, anti-intellectual politics, could be placed under risk. This is already the case at UT, where gender studies is being audited, and it has been announced that Latino studies and Black studies, currently two separate departments, will be consolidated (stripped of funding and independence) and women’s studies will be eliminated.

Josefina Bosch, a member of Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), said, “Trump’s proposed ‘Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education’ is a thinly veiled bribe. In exchange for preferential access to funding and federal grants, UT would have to functionally submit to the whims of the administration.”

Activists there made it clear they were going to fight to have the school reject the compact. Bosch said, “Today, protect freedom of speech. Stand up and protest for those who can’t. Don’t wait until it’s too late. UT has to stick together – UT cannot be bought and sold!”

Austin SDS led the rally and was joined by an array of others who spoke up against the compact. UT Graduate Workers Union, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, University Democrats, and Texas Students for DEI sponsored the event, along with the Black Student Alliance in attendance.

Patrick Adäo-Pérez, political action chair of the Black Student Alliance, spoke on the fight to protect ethnic studies stating, “These privileges and resources we once fought for and achieved, and we must fight for them again!”

Chants rang loudly in front of administration offices, including “Do not sign!” “Say it loud, say it clear! We don’t want your compact here!” and “Unite! Confront! We will not be sold to Trump!” Austin SDS has a march planned for October 20, continuing pressure on UT to reject the compact.

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #Trump #SDS

Austin, TX – On October 2, about 25 students gathered on UT’s South Lawn for a vigil in commemoration of the families who have been torn apart by ICE in Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The vigil was organized by the Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in order to stand in solidarity with the 200,000-plus people who have been deported since Trump was inaugurated in January of this year.

The vigil consisted of a Mexican-inspired ofrenda with photos of families and individuals who were displaced by this recent wave of deportations. In between moments of silence for these families, members of the organization recounted stories of their previous experiences with ICE and how these current attacks have affected people they know.

One member, Pablo Díaz, said that the photos “aren’t just photos of someone who was taken away, they are photos of families that have been broken apart.” Díaz had finished telling a story about the kids he had previously worked with at an after-school program, and how these kids had been living in fear because of ICE.

SDS member Mia Reballosa spoke regarding the UT administration’s response to these attacks, stating, “The university hasn’t just been silent, they’ve been complicit.” This was in reference to there being sightings of ICE around UT’s campus in late January, as well as multiple UT-system students getting their visas revoked last spring as part of Trump’s attacks on immigrants and international students.

After a series of public comments from others in the crowd, the vigil ended with one last moment of silence.

Austin SDS has spent the past two semesters organizing around immigrant rights for their “ICE Off Campus!” campaign. The organization plans to continue this campaign, pressuring UT’s administration to protect international and undocumented students.

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights #StudentMovement #SDS

Austin, TX – On Thursday, September 4, around 70 students gathered outside the UT Tower to protest Trump’s bigoted and reactionary agenda. The protest was organized by Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) as a part of a National Day of Action.

“We’re out here to demand protection for immigrants here at UT and in Texas, and also in acknowledgement that Trump wants to turn the whole country into Texas,” SDS member Daniel Ramirez said, in reference to Trump’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion and multicultural programs. “We can’t stand alone in this fight, and we’re proud to kick off this semester standing in solidarity with students all over the country in the fight against Trump.”

Organizers brought a Trump piñata to hit and called out with chants of “Say it loud, say it clear! Immigrants are welcome here!” and “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go!”

“There is no Trump without Elon Musk, Peter Thiel or Jeff Bezos. There is no GOP without millions of dollars in funding, most of which is untraceable due to campaign laws and super PACs,” said SDS member Aidan Manger in his speech. 

It was 101 degrees when the protest started, but the energy was high and the turnout was exceptional for being in only the second week of the semester, demonstrating that students are already fed up with Trump and ready to continue the fight.

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #Trump #SDS

Austin, TX – On Thursday, July 3, students and community activists gathered at the Texas Capitol to call for an end to continued U.S. aggression against Iran. The action was organized by Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

“The Trump administration wants young people like me to go die in a war that no one supports. They want us to hate Iran while ICE terrorizes Chicano, Mexicano and Central American communities,” said SDS organizer Jesse Valdelamar.

The group was energetic, chanting “Money for jobs and education, not for wars and occupation!” and “No threats, no bombs, No war on Iran!”

Despite rain, the groups chants were loud and clear hundreds of yards away, where a few flustered Zionists and warmongers fruitlessly screamed at the protesters.

“60 years ago, Mao Zedong called Israel a base of U.S. Imperialism,” said Jules Lattimore, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “The billionaires and their puppets in Washington can't believe that Iran would dare to help the Palestinian people resist colonial occupation and genocide. Or that Iran would dare defend itself when so brazenly attacked by Israel, so of course the U.S. intervened.”

#AustinTX #TX #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #Iran #SDS

Austin, TX – Around 60 Austin students and community members held a noise demonstration outside the J.J. Pickle Federal Building on Monday evening, June 16, in solidarity with the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.

The J.J. Pickle building, which has been used as an ICE detention facility, was blocked off by police and some windows had been boarded up. Tensions were high after a week of police brutality and arrests. Protesters still showed up to make their voices heard and demand a stop to the ICE raids and mass deportations being carried out by the Trump administration.

The crowd brought noisemakers, musical instruments and their loud voices to send a clear message to ICE, the police, and Republican lawmakers. They chanted, “Immigrants are here to stay, GOP go away,” and “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!”

Jules Lattimore of Austin Students for a Democratic Society was leading chants throughout the protest. Lattimore said, “We’re here in solidarity with the heroes in LA who are fighting back to protect their community and keep families together. We need to show Trump and Abbott that we plan to keep up the pressure until these deportations stop.”

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantsRights #ICE #StudentMovement #SDS