Champaign-Urbana community members gathered at West Side Park on Saturday to protest recent immigrant policies by President Donald Trump’s administration. Organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation Champaign-Urbana, the rally called for an end to mass deportations and to increase protections for immigrant workers.
The Prairie Liberation Center, the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, the Students for Socialism and Liberation and members of the Graduate Employee Organization showed support for the protest.
Ricardo Díaz, interim director of the University YMCA’s New American Welcome Center and an immigrant, spoke about the fear that has spread through communities amid deportation efforts. He said that many are choosing to resist.
“There’s a lot of fear in my communities,” Díaz said. “Yet, I have also felt the strength that happens when you’re getting pushed … and you start to refuse, to say ‘No, no way.’”
For Díaz, gatherings like Saturday’s rally were not only about demonstrating solidarity but also about building momentum for future action. He told the crowd that today’s turnout was only the start.
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“We were out here when it was not easy,” Díaz said. “It’s the beginning of the pushback. Next time, it’ll be bigger. Next time, it’ll be with other groups. And next time, it will be with further strength until we overcome it.”
Since resuming office in January, Trump has intensified immigration enforcement. He initiated plans to transfer migrants to the Guantanamo Bay naval base for detention, a move that the American Civil Liberties Union has challenged as unconstitutional.
“This is not new,” said Jason Farias, a student at Eastern Illinois University and a member of PSL. “This is not abnormal. This policy of housing prisoners in Guantanamo Bay is a continuation of U.S. imperial policy.”
Farias criticized both major political parties for benefiting from immigrant labor while failing to acknowledge the humanity and rights of migrant workers. He said minorities are often scapegoated to divert attention from broader systemic issues.
“(Trump) did it by criminalizing our people,” Farias said. “He did it by criminalizing people that look like you, that look like me, my family … He has us all pointing at each other, at the trans community, at immigrants and other marginalized people, all as a weapon of mass distraction.”
According to UCIMC board member Marisa Hicks-Alcaraz, a protest organizer and former postdoctoral research associate at the University, local officials must take concrete actions to protect immigrant and migrant rights.
“We don’t want the police to collaborate with ICE, which they haven’t been,” Hicks-Alcaraz said. “(Local officials) should protect their migrant community. For example, in Urbana, keep the sanctuary status for migrants and not deport migrants.”
Protesters marched through downtown Champaign, holding signs and chanting in opposition to federal immigration enforcement. Demonstrators exclaimed, “Money for jobs and education, not for war and deportation,” as they walked through the streets.
Organizers distributed materials in English and Spanish, including printed chants, information on immigrant rights and contact numbers for lawyers and immigrant rights coalitions. Attendees also received constitutional rights cards that outline legal protections for individuals interacting with law enforcement.
“Our enemies, they’re organized,” Farias said. “Trump is organized. The fascists are organized … We have to be organized. And it’s never been more clear that racism is a tool to divide us … Abolish ICE and use that money for the people instead.”
