Around 200 UC San Diego students rallied Wednesday in protest of the Trump administration’s policy of mass deportation.
The protest was hosted by the Students' Civil Liberties Union, who wanted the school to do more to protect students who are in the U.S. without legal status.
Last month, the Trump administration said it would allow immigration arrests at schools, churches and hospitals, ending a policy that’s been in effect since 2011.
Dannie Zhu, with the Students' Civil Liberties Union, said it is a "moral crisis."
"It's a crisis where our students can't go to school and feel safe and sit in their lectures without worrying when they're going to get a call from their loved ones that were deported, when they're going to see ICE on campus and have to hide," she said. "It's a crisis where they can't seek legal aid. They can't seek resources from the school because the undocumented student center is so overburdened."
Zhu wants the school to devote more resources to the Undocumented Student Center. The center said it’s seen an increase in students coming in seeking services, including legal help.
Some students on campus supported the protest, saying it's important to get young voices heard.
“It's good to see students like standing up for what they believe in, especially in a time when so much is changing,” said Kyler Wang, a second-year student. "Because I think that's the way our country is always ran — young people standing up for what they believe in and doing what needs to be done to get change."
“We have a lot of international students and a lot of undocumented students here on this campus," John Paculdo Koenigshofer said. "And these are our classmates, our peers, our friends. And it's really important that we stick up for each other. And when we see injustice happening, we speak out about it.”
The protest started in front of the Geisel Library, with speakers calling out the Trump administration for what they say are "inhumane" deportation methods.
Afterward, the students marched around campus, chanting along the way, ending at Matthews Quad by the Price Center, where the Associated Students Senate was meeting Wednesday night.
During the meeting, a resolution was introduced to support students here without legal status.
