WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Students at Florida International University held a rally on campus in opposition to President Trump’s executive orders on immigration, Friday.
Florida International University enrolls over 50,000 students each year, and nearly all of these students come from culturally diverse backgrounds. Students enrolled range from first-generation U.S. citizens to those who are undocumented immigrants.
Due to President Trump’s executive order to defund “sanctuary cities,” including Miami-Dade County, students fear they or their classmates can fall victim to deportation if any issue with police were to arise.
Friday morning, about 20 students came together at FIU’s Modesto Maidique Campus in solidarity for a peaceful rally called “FIU Here To Stay.” The students held signs and shouted their message, “education, not deportation.”
Their primary concern is for their immigrant or undocumented peers who are currently able to study at FIU because of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The students are also asking the FIU administration to make the school a sanctuary campus, as it is known to be one of the most diverse campuses and one of the first to provide tuition equity to undocumented immigrants.
“A lot of us have personal connections to it,” said student and protest organizer Galina Abdelaziz. “If not our family, then our friends and our classmates. These are people that we care about, and people that we love and people that deserve to be here, and we want to make sure that they are able to stay.”
Larry Lunsford, Vice President of Student Affairs at FIU, reassured students that protecting their rights is the school’s utmost priority.
“We will continue to follow current law in regard to DACA, or other federal laws that may come out, and currently, those haven’t been changed,” he explained. “We’re concerned about our student’s rights and responsibilities, and we are committed to protecting them.”
The protest continued until 1 p.m. inside of a student center on campus.
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