UTRGV Students protesting Feb.2 in the Bronc trail on the Edinburg campus Celeste Cruz / Vaquero Radio
On Feb. 2, Education senior Austin Garza and philosophy junior Diego Alejo led a protest against ICE raids and the Trump administration on the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses.
The Be the Hero Walkout initiated in the Bronc trail by the Liberal Arts North building on the Edinburg campus and outside of the Main Building on the Brownsville campus.
A student participant requested to remain anonymous said this walkout is important since UTRGV is a part of a border community.
“A lot of the action is going to happen around the border communities. So we’re not gonna be the only city that is gonna be targeted by ice agents, by all of this border patrol, states, like federal agents and stuff, like, we’re not gonna be the only city,” she said.
Abigail Beaver theater freshman said she has seen ICE raids happening in the Valley and other states.
“They get deported somewhere completely different,” Beaver said. “Somewhere they don’t even have family yet. That’s completely inhumane, that should stop.”
Alejo said ICE raids are a big issue that is going on in the U.S.
“Like none of us should have to deal with this or seeing families get taken,” Alejo said. “I just had a friend whose dad just got taken.”
He said living in the Valley fluctuates his perspective on immigration.
“You see people immigrate here, legally and even they, face persecution, or you see people here come here illegally in big groups, always looking for help,” Alejo said. “And I mean, they’re still our relatives, we’re still all the same race at the end of the day.”
