Students and workers from across southern California marched 1.5 miles from the 6th Street Bridge to the Japanese American National Museum to show support for affected Angelenos and take a stand against these recent actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here to uplift, we\u2019re here to say no to the raids, no to the hate and attacks on people of color,\u201d Pedro Trujillo, director of organizing at CHIRLA, said. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve noticed is that the majority of the time it\u2019s brown people who are being pulled over, and it\u2019s racial profiling because you\u2019re speaking Spanish or because you\u2019re working at a Home Depot or a car wash.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trujillo underscored the significance of student attendance at this rally and wider participation in the fight against the increasing pervasiveness of ICE.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery social movement that has been successful has been intergenerational,\u201d he said. \u201cIt requires the leadership of young people. It requires the creativity of young people. The power of the youth block has grown so much that if it\u2019s unutilized, unorganized, we\u2019re just doing a favor to the opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201c The power of the youth block has grown so much that if it\u2019s unutilized, unorganized, we\u2019re just doing a favor to the opposition<\/p>\n
\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
CSWA has a long tradition of collaboration with the Unite Here! Local 11 union, which represents Pomona and Pitzer dining hall workers and Pitzer grounds keepers. Vanessa Kusel PZ \u201927, CSWA steering leader, said that 5C students supporting Unite Here! specifically is crucial, especially in the more geographically isolated community of Claremont.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis protest is in LA, where there\u2019s a lot of union density,\u201d Kusel said. \u201cBut out here, in the Inland Empire, there aren\u2019t as many unions. So it\u2019s really important that these unions have student support because there aren\u2019t a lot of unions around them to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the rally, attending students were uniformed in red \u201cUnite Here! Local 11\u201d T-shirts and mingled within the pack of union members. Organization leaders shared concerns that the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will put immigrants at greater risk of deportation, and outlined their efforts to hold the city accountable. The Los Angeles Alliance for A New Economy (LAANE), in collaboration with Unite Here!, distributed clipboards with QR codes to 5C students; the code directed people to sign up to send emails to the 2028 Olympics planning committee, \u201cessentially telling them that they need to guarantee that the Olympics will not put immigrants at more risk.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were walking around getting people to sign on to demonstrate to the Olympics planning committee that they need to take into account their impact on the community and defend the people who are going to actually support and have been supporting the city,\u201d Kai Chen PO \u201926, CSWA member and rally attendee, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chen said that it was \u201creally cool\u201d to have the opportunity to play a key role in the union\u2019s efforts and be at the forefront of tangible social change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just what happens when you go out into a place and you start engaging in it,\u201d they said. \u201cThe first thing you have to do is just get out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interest in attending Saturday\u2019s event reached CSWA members and the general 5C student body alike. Will Polin SC \u201929 heard about the rally through social media and jumped at the chance to get free transportation down to LA with an official student group.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really motivated to get involved, but as a student, it\u2019s hard to find ways to do that through class schedules,\u201d Polin said. \u201cThe opportunities just feel kind of limited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kusel said she finds new student interest in CSWA initiatives promising, echoing the sentiment that while \u201ca lot of people care about immigration rights,\u201d they often \u201cjust don\u2019t know what they can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rally on Saturday was one way to give students an \u201coutlet\u201d where they can express their frustrations with current immigration policies in a \u201chealthy and productive way,\u201d according to Kusel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver Spaulding HM \u201929 attended the rally because he wants college to be a place where he can explore political activism.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to go and show up for protests, not just be knowledgeable about issues that are going on, but actually be trying to make a difference and make the world better,\u201d Spaulding said.<\/p>\n
Kusel emphasized how, while ignorance may be bliss, the privilege to turn a blind eye to greater social issues is fleeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs 5C students, we have the privilege to not be aware, but there are people, thousands of people, all around our city and our county who are staying in their house because they\u2019re afraid of being kidnapped,\u201d Kusel said. \u201cWith this new influx of money that ICE is getting, we know these kidnappings are only going to ramp up. So it\u2019s better for us all to be aware now, because it could start to affect our [Claremont] community more.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"Protestors](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/news-cswa-c.jpg\")
Thanks to efforts by CSWA, 5C students attended the October 4. We The People Are Rising protest in Los Angeles. Courtesy: Claremont Student Worker Alliance<\/p>\n