The Ohio Student Association expresses its disgust and outrage at the heinous actions of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Sandusky and Salem, Ohio, this month. We as students, workers, activists, and Ohioans have made it our goal to fight against the racist system of mass incarceration in our communities. Therefore, we demand the defunding and abolition of ICE, which has become an unaccountable paramilitary force whose main goal seems to be executing violent attacks upon the most vulnerable members of our society. We demand the immediate release of the nearly 250 people arrested by ICE in raids at Corso’s and Fresh Mark, and the payment of restitution to those families for the trauma experienced.

Due to the actions of the past four presidential administrations, the conditions facing migrant workers in this country have reached a crisis point. People living without documentation are systematically denied political and legal representation. They are refused access to healthcare and basic social services. They are underpaid, overworked, and mistreated. The politically powerful treat them with ignorance at best and malevolence at worst. There seems to be precious little cause for optimism.

We know that if we wait for change to come from above, it will be too late. It is not enough to just click retweet and file this away in reasons you’re outraged about Trump. The end of this reign of terror won’t show up gift-wrapped at our front-door one day; you can’t order it on Amazon Prime. We want an Ohio that’s safe for immigrants, just like we want to an Ohio that’s free of mass incarceration, police brutality, exploitation of the poor, and institutional racism. We vow to continue building it ourselves, from the ground up, one brick at a time. We call on our friends, neighbors, fellow workers, and even our politicians to join us.

Sincerely,

The Ohio Student Association