Protesters gather on Kennesaw State University campus to protest President Trump’s deportation plan
KENNESAW, Ga. – A group of protesters who are members of the Party of Socialism & Liberation gathered Monday at Kennesaw State University’s campus Green to rally against the mass deportation plans of President Trump.
The protesters chanted, “The people united will never be defeated” and “The students united will never be defeated.”
Speakers at the rally were passionate when discussing their opinions on the new regime.
“Trump and Elon Musk look at us like we’re some kind of slaves because they’re evil,” said a speaker who did not give her name. “Look at people with your heart. Look at them as people.”
“Immigrants' rights are important,” said Grace Blomberg, a member of the Party of Socialism & Liberation. “There are 11 million immigrants here, and they all have full lives. They have families, have gone to school, and have built communities. They are people with liberty.”
Blomberg said she wants the Party of Socialism & Liberation to “protect people with all struggles,” citing the LGBTIQQ, black, and immigrant communities.
Counter-protesters also showed up at the campus green. They expressed their disagreement with the speakers who protested Trump’s immigration policies.
One counter protester, Irish, who wished to have his name concealed for fear of online harassment, said “immigrants are being exploited by the government and big business,” and that protests like this “dehumanize the immigrants.” He said immigration reform needed to happen to help combat the problems that the country faces.
“These people want open borders, which no other country has,” he said. “Not even Mexico, our neighbors to the south, they deport Hondurans.”
“I am anti big government regardless of who is in charge,” Irish said. "Socialism has failed, but liberty has always prevailed.”
Ria, a protester who wanted her real name to be concealed for fear of consequences, said, “The US is built by immigrants” and continued with “the education system says that colonization was a good thing.”
“The immigration process needs to be more efficient,” she said. “Some immigrants are forced to wait for over 20 years to gain citizenship when it shouldn’t take that long. It should be a lot quicker and easier.”
“Trump is fearmongering and censoring information by trying to defund the Department of Education,” Ria said. “ Naysayers need to be educated on these issues.”
“Supporters of the movement are scared to come out to events like this because ICE uses it as an opportunity to arrest them,” Ria said.
“People should be coming together because this is a fight for humanity,” said Cleo, another protester who did not want her real name revealed. “They are trying to divide us, but we build community. Look at all the people here, we have people from all different races and backgrounds here to support each other.”
“I want the anti-protesters to hear us out,” Cleo said. “Socialism is for the people, and we are here for people on both sides of the aisle. This administration is trying to remove diverse history from school, but diversity built this country.”
