JACKIE MARQUEZ / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On the cold, cloudy Tuesday before Easter Break, around 100 USD community members gathered in a pre-Easter vigil for people who have been detained and deported by the U.S. government. Organized by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee at USD, the event included interfaith prayers, student remarks, chants and reflections on USD’s mission as a Catholic university. Students, professors and administrators alike stood solemnly in Colachis Plaza, holding signs that read “Resist,” “No ICE” and “Protesting Genocide Is A Duty To Human Dignity.”  As they did so, touring high schoolers and passing students craned their necks to see what was happening. Some paused to observe and others continued on their way. No counter-protests broke out, but two Department of Public Safety vehicles kept a close eye on the demonstration. 

With some international students  facing    visa   revocations and other disciplinary actions for pro-Palestine speech and demonstrations nationwide, a quiet tension hung in the air. Locally, 35 students at the University of California, San Diego and four students at San Diego State University have also had their student visas revoked. According to a USD spokesperson, one student at USD has been impacted by recent visa revocations.

The vigil also addressed the growing pressure that the U.S. government has mounted against higher education. In the past few months, the Trump administration has pushed for increased oversight of American universities like Columbia University and Harvard University in response to alleged anti-semitism and discrimination.

With these recent events in mind, the vigil opened with multiple prayers from different faith traditions. Grounding the demonstration on the unceded territory of the Kumeyaay nation, member of the Kumeyaay Nation and USD professor Stanley Rodriguez started the demonstration with a blessing.

“Bless each and every one of these warriors here who have come,” Rodriguez translated into English. “Bring their minds and their hearts and their bodies to stand up against injustice, to not be pushed back.”

Following this blessing, USD’s Vice President of Mission Integration Michael Lovette-Colyer stepped up to the microphone. Giving a prayer from the Catholic tradition, he acknowledged the vigil’s overlap with  the  holiday  of  Passover. This holiday celebrates the biblical Israelites’ escape from slavery.  

“God of freedom, we assemble today during Passover, reminded that you are a God who liberates the enslaved, frees the oppressed and seeks justice and peace for all your people,” Lovette-Colyer prayed. “God of compassion, we lift up all those who are in need, especially those detained or deported without the due process they deserve.”

Next, a USD undergraduate student, whose name was not given during the vigil out of fear for her safety, gave a Dua’ah from the Islamic faith. Asking for mercy and protection, the student prayed for those who have been deported to those facing violence in Palestine.

“In the name of Allah the most gracious, the most merciful, Ya Allah, the sustainer of all worlds, we turn to you in desperate plea for all people,” the student prayed. “Those in Palestine, those who have been deported, protect them from the bombardment they face. Shield them from siege, and save them from the hands that aim to harm them.”

Finally, USD junior Mari Cohen offered a prayer from the Jewish tradition. Calling on the angels of justice, Cohen asked for strength to fight for those who have been marginalized. 

“Shalom Aleichem,” Cohen prayed. “Peace to you, angels of justice, angels most high. Show us how   to   fight   for the  liberation of those whose very lives are forbidden, forgotten, forsaken.”

After praying for change, student speakers worked to raise awareness for the current issues facing migrant communities. Coming from a variety of different majors and disciplines, Toreros shared statistics about detention, told the stories of people who are currently detained and initiated moments of silence and remembrance. They also drew connections between the struggles of migrants, Native Americans and Palestinians. 

“We must connect the dots between  the   inhumane  treatment of migrants, the surveillance of pro-Palestine activists and  the  criminalization of dissent,” a student speaker, who also withheld her name, said. “These actions are not isolated. They stem from a shared ideology, a domination, a dehumanization.”

As students reflected on these broader struggles, some speakers  also turned their focus to USD  as a changemaking campus. One of these speakers was Esteban del Rio, a professor of Communication at USD and the director of the Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture. 

“At a Catholic university, we ought  to  be  a  university,”  del Rio stated. “… A university is able to recognize the contradictions [of unifying multiple viewpoints.] The horrible hate that informs antisemitism moves in the same ideological direction of a disregard for Palestinian life, in the same ideological direction of a disinterest in the plight of migrants, in the same ideological direction of the squelching of dissent with cruelty.”

Changes regarding the detention of international students have already started taking place. On Friday, April 25 the Trump administration moved to restore  the  legal  status of thousands of international students — including 18 UCSD and three SDSU students. However, the administration has also indicated that it is working on a new system for reviewing and terminating international students’ records. As   federal  policy continues to shift, Toreros will continue to have conversations about detention, deportation and freedom of expression in the university setting. 

Students and community members gathered in front of The Immaculata Church for the vigil. Lauren Ceballos/The USD Vista