Stateline CW

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) – In response to the Trump administration’s moves on immigration control and tackling anti-Semitism at American colleges, student activists gathered at Rockford’s Haight Park on Saturday afternoon.

:I think it’s part of our social responsibility to  be the best community members that we can and to protect the most vulnerable of our society,” said demonstrator Ari Perez. “And right now, we are seeing heightened attacks  on our Palestinian brothers and sisters, as well as my Latino brothers and sisters. So I think it’s important whenever we see these injustice take place, to  step out of your comfortability and to to  take to the streets, to stand up and fight back.”

The protest Saturday was part of a continued string of demonstrations in the Rockford area. Last month, protests were held at multiple Rockford high schools in support of both Palestine (Gaza has come under fire from Israel in response to the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack) and noncitizen migrants facing deportation from the U.S.

“I’m happy that that’s going on. And it’s just another indication to me that  that the younger generations  are not only going  are not only going to  promote  a free Palestine, but they’re also going to oppose those  authoritarian regimes regardless of where they are,” Perez said.

With the April 1st Consolidated Election only a few weeks away, Perez said activists are also encouraging everyone to vote.

“A lot of these local elected officials, local officials, they say that, ‘oh, Palestine doesn’t  relate to Iraq, it’s not Iraq.’ But  if you look at the history, you can understand that Rockford is implicated. So  I think that we as a Rockford need to pressure our elected officials to to realize that we are implicated. This is not just a faraway issue,” Perez said.