Colorado: Auraria campus demands release of Mahmoud Khalil and Jeanette Vizguerra

Denver, CO – On Wednesday, March 19, hundreds of Coloradans rallied on the Auraria Campus in Denver to protest Trump’s attacks on free speech and the politically motivated detainment of activists.

The crowd, led by Denver Students for a Democratic Society, marched around the campus, chanting “We want justice, you say how? Free Mahmoud Khalil now!” and “Say it once, say it twice! We do not fuck with ICE!”

This protest came out of a national emergency day of action called by National Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) after the detention of Mahmoud Khalil on March 9. Khalil is a Palestinian permanent U.S. resident and Columbia University graduate who was one of the leaders of the encampment for Gaza on that New York campus last spring.

Another Palestinian Columbia student activist and encampment participant, Leqaa Kordia, was taken into ICE custody for “supporting terrorism” and allegedly overstaying her student visa, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release.

Colorado was also hit by the detainments of political activists. On March 17, Jeanette Vizguerra, an undocumented immigrant and prominent activist who has supported immigrant rights and anti-war movements across the state, was abducted from her workplace without a warrant. She was sent to the GEO Group ICE Processing Center in Aurora, which is infamous for its poor treatment of prisoners.

Luna Baez, Jeanette’s daughter, gave an update on her mother’s legal status and fight against her deportation, stating “At this time we are still waiting on responses. Yesterday we stood outside GEO in freezing rain, there was a lot of wind, it was a lot to go through. I very much appreciate the energy and the attention that you guys have towards this issue, and hopefully we can go ahead and mobilize and not only help my mom but help anyone else affected by this issue.”

Shaine Carroll-Frey, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, stated, “These things are connected, these are political attacks because Jeanette is an activist and Mahmoud is an activist. So what Trump is trying to do is outlaw protest and outlaw political dissent. We cannot let him!” Student voices are not the only ones calling for the release of Mahmoud Khalil, Leqaa Kordia and Jeanette Vizguerra. Since Khalil’s unlawful arrest, there have been protests across the United States for which thousands of people show up to demand an end to deportations, arrests of political activists and Trump’s attacks on free speech – and there are no signs of the national movement against the Trump administration stopping.

“Today we are somber, but we are invigorated. We are hurting, but we are also hopeful. We are facing a difficult time, but we are here doing it in solidarity,” assured Yoselin Corrales, an organizer with Aurora Unidos CSO. “Immigration and free speech are not a crime.”

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