Several Texas A&M student organizations are protesting at Rudder Plaza from 3-7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5 to display solidarity with immigrant students. The event is titled the Contra La Juala de Oro protest, or “Against the Golden Cage” in Spanish.
“As an organization dedicated to advocating for undocumented students and empowering the immigrant community, we refuse to stay silent while thousands are ripped from their families, criminalized, and forced to live in fear,” psychology junior and president of the Council for Minority Student Affairs, or CMSA, Lili Rojas said in a statement to The Battalion.
In collaboration with the Young Democratic Socialists of America, MOVE at A&M, Texas Rising, Bryan-College Station Watermelon Squad, Aggies Against Apartheid, the Aggie Democrats, International Youth and Students for Social Equality and the Brazos County Party for Socialism and Liberation, CMSA hopes to draw support from students and pressure administration to protect immigrant students, according to the statement.
“Our institution must be a sanctuary of safety, not a source of fear and discrimination,” Rojas said in the statement. “Every Aggie, regardless of immigration status, belongs here, and we will not allow fear-mongering policies to dictate who gets access to education and opportunity. We are protesting to demand justice, dignity, transparency, and real protection for all Aggies at our University.”
In an Instagram post, A&M’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter told undocumented students to avoid attending the protest for their safety.
The group also posted a schedule:
- Gathering – 3 p.m.
- Create Posters – 3:30 p.m.
- Speeches – 4:30 p.m.
- March – 5:30 p.m.
- Performances – 6 p.m.
- Vigil – 7 p.m.
