Emerson Pieper, staff writer

The University of Minnesota has somewhat recently stated that they will be complying with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) orders, despite giving out an announcement that they will be offering guidance for members of their community who are affected by ICE. This is baffling because it completely contradicts their statement of compliance with ICE and the Federal Law Enforcement. Because of this, the students of the university have been skipping classes to protest against the situation against both ICE and the University of Minnesota’s response. They have gone so far as to threaten that they will work to shut down the university if the administrators do not provide a sanctuary for the students within the campus. 

I think that this is something that Augsburg and Augsburg students should be aware of and acknowledge, because it is a neighboring college and could potentially affect us. I also believe that we should be offering support to their protest as best that we can. However, I do understand that it could potentially cause some problems between the two universities, with not-so-good outcomes. Some of the students at the University of Minnesota have stated that the university is “only doing whatever it is they can do that gets them money,” and I do not think that it is a false accusation. 

I have recently found out that the University of Minnesota directly receives money from ICE. Apparently, they are the only university that receives the money in the country. Not only that, the university is the only university that is currently leasing a gun range facility to ICE, even providing ammunition for the group, which is outrageous and disgusting.

Something that really bothers me is that people only talk about the two white people, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who have been murdered by ICE recently. I’m not saying that we should be ignoring the two victims simply because they are white, but I do think that we should be giving the same amount of attention to the other victims who have been murdered, like Keith Porter, and others who haven’t even been named to my knowledge. The fact that the two officers who killed Alex Pretti, who are conveniently unnamed, are being protected and not facing any repercussions is upsetting. Even so, I am not surprised at all, with how low the political field has stooped as of late.

When they killed Alex Pretti, he was unarmed, the gun already having been taken from another person, prior to the shooting. This contradicts ICE’s claims that the shots were in self-defense because of the gun he had that was taken a good few minutes beforehand. The weapon he had on him was, in fact, one that he had a legal permit for, despite people claiming that it wasn’t. With full offense, those people who still claim that ICE is taking people who are “aliens” and criminals are complete idiots who spew out anything that they can think of to make ICE members look good and to save their own faces. Not only that, but to delude themselves into not admitting that they have been wrong in any circumstance.

They have to see the children, literal kindergarteners have been detained by ICE, even those who have been born in the U.S. ICE does not care who the people are. If someone doesn’t look white, they automatically become a target. If someone tries to intervene with the attempted arrest, that person is either arrested themselves, hurt, or murdered. ICE members only care about the money. They get paid regardless of who they bring in, and they are genuinely just people with no soul.

I think that the students from the University of Minnesota should not be facing the repercussions that they are. They are completely in the right for what they are doing and protesting for. Honestly, I hope that the university will retract their actions and, at the very least, stop supporting ICE—even though they claim they don’t—but realistically, I don’t see that happening any time soon.