MI: Grand Valley students rally for Mahmoud Khalil

Allendale, MI — On Saturday, March 15, Grand Valley State University students and community members took part in a demonstration protesting the illegal ICE abductions of Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia. They also demanded that Grand Valley take action to protect its student body from the increased repression of the Trump administration.

The Progressive Student Union at Grand Valley has spent the past couple of months organizing a mass movement to try and get GV admin to declare a sanctuary campus.

“I think it was necessary for us to be out today because what happened to Mahmoud is a direct targeted attack not just on immigrants, but the entirety of the pro-Palestine movement and the right to free speech. It’s been made clear that Mahmoud was abducted due to his activism,” said Dorion Fedwa, a member of the Grand Valley Progressive Student Union.

Dorion continued, “And in response to the government trying to silence the movement, we need to get louder. Which is exactly what I think students need to continue doing – we all should continue protesting, advocating for the protection of immigrants and the Palestinian people, and educating anyone who will listen about fascism creeping further into our own country so that we can fight against it.”

The struggle to free Mahmoud Khalil is not just a struggle of the student movement or anti-ICE movement, but also the anti-war and anti-Zionist movements.

Cassie Veach, a member of Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, stated, “Student organizing has long held an important place in the landscape of social movements. Attempts to silence students should rightly be viewed by the wider community as a threat to protected speech more broadly. It is important that community members outside of higher education stand in solidarity with students who are facing unconstitutional authoritarian tactics designed to dissuade students from advocating for an end to the genocide in Palestine.”

Veach added, “The abduction and attempted disappearance of Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident, shows the dangers of allowing ICE on college property. The response to his detention shows that the administration’s attempts to silence students have backfired, and more people are choosing to get involved and to stand on the right side of history every day.”

The detention of pro-Palestine student advocates makes the need for sanctuary even stronger. The Trump administration’s use of ICE to abduct and deport activists and immigrants has shown that no one is safe from this repression. We must unite all who can be united against the reactionary Trump agenda.

#GrandValleyMI #MI #Palestine #AntiWarMovement