Editors’ Note: Sources in this piece are identified under pseudonyms for privacy and safety reasons. 

“This is an all-out blatant attack on the people,” said Gianna Geary, core member of the UC Santa Cruz Women and Queers Against Tyranny and Capitalism Club. “Nobody is immune. Now is the time to organize, and now is the time to respond, or else all of us are going to be affected.”

This sentiment echoed across the Merrill Cultural Center on Jan. 13, where the UCSC Center for Labor and Community (UCSCLC) hosted a panel-led discussion titled “Labor Against ICE.” The event aimed to discuss how labor organizers are responding to the exponential increase in deportations pushed by the Trump administration, and what role students can play in fighting against it. 

The panel consisted of five community leaders with expertise on labor issues. In addition to the discussion, organizations such as Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) at UCSC, Long-Haul Magazine, the California Immigrant Policy Center and UCSCLC tabled during the event. 

Among the organizations tabling, the California Immigrant Policy Center informs attendees about their work and upcoming advocacy opportunities. 

Volunteers from Barrios Unidos screen printed hundreds of t-shirts and small posters adorned with phrases like “people over profit,” and “make your work friends your union friends.”

Students line up for t-shirts that read “Labor Against Ice” to express their solidarity with labor unions. 

“To come into a collective space where people are acknowledging and addressing the constant challenge and uphill battle of organizing, but then to see how it plays out in community building and organizing in practice is so empowering,” Geary said. “It combats those feelings of depression. It combats the feelings of darkness and sadness.”

The panel was led by moderator Dr. Veronica Hamilton, a research specialist for the UCSCLC. The panelists invited attendees to submit questions that would be answered during the concluding Q&A session. 

Cesar Lara, the director of workforce strategy at California Federation of Labor Unions, emphasized that collective action is vital, as ICE agents will begin to threaten Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in the coming year.

“Monterey County per capita has the highest percentage of undocumented individuals, more than any county in California. We have about 15,000 H-2A workers,” Lara said during the panel. “H-2A is a program where they bring workers here to work for certain months and then send them back. We have the most in any county in California, and California has the most in the country.”

A central point that circulated throughout the discussion raised the question: How can we protect students and their families from ICE? 

As reports of ICE begin threatening areas in and around public K-12 schools, panelist Jessie Papalia, a dual-language educator and founder of the Oakland Education Association’s Rapid Response Team, organized several teams of foot patrols. Within this community-oriented system, individuals patrol the areas around schools by foot while school is in session, and during high risk times like pickup and drop off.

[Left to Right] Panelists Alex Quintero, SatKartar Khalsa and Jessie Papalia discuss their advocacy work throughout various labor unions and public sectors. 

Healthcare workers have also begun action plans to protect their patients from being detained by ICE. 

According to Khalsa, when individuals are being detained by ICE, bystanders can call 911 for an ambulance. In this process, the individual is required to be transferred to a nearby hospital, where medical professionals can act as a protective barrier and provide various services for the individual. 

“That’s a unique role we can play, and it’s a unique role that you can also play as a witness, as a bystander,” Khalsa continued. “We need to keep everyone in our hearts and we need to do so by not forgetting and sending them to the hospital.”

Panelist SatKartar Khalsa’s experience in the public health space provided a unique perspective on the role of healthcare workers in organizing and advocacy.  

Other ways of combating ICE activity within our communities can involve more unconventional approaches. Alex Quintero, a labor organizer and creator of @allthingslabor on Instagram and TikTok, showed an example through her story of intentionally playing the trumpet poorly outside of a hotel she knew ICE was staying at. 

Panelist Alex Quintero shares her extensive experience in advocacy, including anecdotes about organizing in the workplace and mobilizing with various labor unions. 

“It was incredible to see so many people [outside the hotel] at midnight too, being like, ‘we’re gonna raise hell,’” Quintero said. “That’s one of the ways that you really combat fear, is through the collective.” 

For the UCSC community, “the collective” is made up of the students that circulate this campus.  

“We, as students and as working academics, have the luxury of time,” a UCSC YDSA co-chair said. “[We have] time to organize, time to plan, time to go to panels [discussing] what is happening. Other people do not.” 

They continued, “If you haven’t gotten involved in community defense or mutual aid yet, do so. Too late is approaching sooner than we may want it to.”

As of Jan. 8, there are 68,990 people in ICE detention centers across the U.S. With the recent ICE sighting in Watsonville on Jan. 18, the importance of responding with action as students is critical. 

Panelist Denisha Jordan speaks about her experience in organizing and advocacy in the Los Angeles area, including the work she has done to protect students or families who may be vulnerable to ICE attacks. 

“[There’s] a reason they’re going after public education and institutions. Every movement that has happened throughout history has started with you guys, you are the ones that are going to make the difference,” Denisha Jordan said. “We know that we can’t do it without the youth, without the college students, and without our young folks. So, just as everyone says, just do something.”