Notre Dame students organized a protest on March 21 addressing the political climate surrounding the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants. Approved by the Student Activities Office (SAO), the “Irish for Immigrants” event drew around 50 attendees for a call to prayer and several speeches.
Freshman co-organizers Tiffany Gervacio and Bennett Witherall found inspiration for the event after they traveled to the American Civil Liberties Union National Advocacy Institute in New York City. There, Gervacio told the Rover, the pair received training and guidance on organizing a campus protest.
Speakers included Dillon priest-in-residence Father Joe Corpora, C.S.C., freshman Dario Romero, senior and Student Body Vice President Sonia Lumley, Tiffany Gervacio, Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Political Science Luis Fraga, and freshman Eric Facundo. Witherall emceed the event.
The event, advertised solely on social media, was not officially sponsored by any student clubs on campus.
Many of the speakers condemned the deportation efforts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, addressing members of the Latino and Hispanic communities specifically. “Immigrants are what make America great, and yet today, many of our communities are living in fear,” Lumley remarked. “That fear can be paralyzing, but let me be clear: fear will not define us. It will not silence us, and it will not silence me.”
“Immigrants are what make America great,” Lumley repeated, “and as we reflect, we must acknowledge the deeper history of this country, a nation built by those who came from elsewhere on the land that has always belonged to the Native American communities.”
Gervacio told the audience, “Being at a predominantly white institution, I can sometimes feel like we are living in a bubble, a bubble where life feels normal, where deadlines and exams matter. But outside of this bubble, our reality is a harsher one. While we sit in classrooms, write papers, and attempt to go about our daily lives, our loved ones are being targeted at home.”
“Our communities are filled with ICE agents who bring fear to everyday life, fear when someone knocks on the door, fear when someone leaves their home just to buy groceries, fear of existing in brown skin,” Gervacio continued. “Our families are being separated by cruel borders—not just physical borders, but emotional ones, psychological ones, generational ones.”
Professor Fraga exhorted the audience to pray, referencing a March 15 letter from El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz, in which the bishop affirmed his solidarity with immigrants and decried “the current national campaign of mass detention and deportations” as a “grave moral evil.”
“We are, as Father Joe said, in a very dark time, we are in a time when so many in our communities and their supporters are hurting and they’re suffering,” Fraga remarked. “Let us pray that we can become communities of discernment and communities of conscience.”
At the conclusion of the protest, freshman Lesly Calixto led the crowd in a chant, shouting, “Show me what democracy looks like!” while the crowd responded, “This is what democracy looks like!”
Witherall told the Rover after the event that his motivation in organizing the protest was to show “solidarity” with the immigrant community.
“We want to show our community that we stand … with immigrants here. We stand with immigrants in Chicago and South Bend and all around the Midwest and in my home state of California,” Witherall continued. “We’re not turning a blind eye. We’re not turning our heads the other direction, and we want to adhere to Pope Leo’s statement,” he said, referencing a 2025 comment from the pope on the state of American immigration.
Freshman Clare Kelly told the Rover, “As much as the violence against immigrants in our country right now doesn’t affect me or my family, because I have the privilege of being white and not experiencing that racial discrimination … there are all kinds of immigrant communities in America. … I just wanted to support other students on campus.”
Lucy Spence is a junior from McLean, Virginia majoring in the Program of Liberal Studies and piano performance, with a minor in philosophy. She can be reached at lspence@nd.edu.