A protester holds a “hands off my neighbors” sign at the anti-ICE rally on May 2, 2025, at the Monroe County Courthouse Square. Protesters argued the Trump administration’s deportations of immigrants have violated due process.
CITY BLOOMINGTON
Community members rally against ICE presence in Bloomington
A protester holds a “hands off my neighbors” sign at the anti-ICE rally on May 2, 2025, at the Monroe County Courthouse Square. Protesters argued the Trump administration’s deportations of immigrants have violated due process. Photo by Chloe LaVelle / The Indiana Daily Student
By Deshna Venkatachalam
May 3, 2025 12:56 pm · Updated May 3, 2025 12:56 pm
Around 200 community members stood on the grounds of the Monroe County Courthouse Square on Friday to rally against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The emergency rally was organized by several local groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Committee at Indiana University, IU Divestment Coalition, Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition, Science for the People Bloom, The People’s 2030 and the Community Care Coalition.
The event was prompted by sightings of ICE agents in and around Bloomington earlier this week. On Friday, the Hopkins County Jail in Kentucky confirmed that it has custody of three individuals who were detained by ICE in Bloomington.
Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson addressed the situation in a statement Friday morning. Thomson said that federal immigration enforcement falls outside of the city’s legal authority and that ICE agents can enter the community without advanced notices.
“I recognize the urgency many are feeling. Though our authority is limited in this space, our commitment to supporting our community within the bounds of the law remains constant,” Thomson said in the statement.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Jeffrey Brown, told the IDS that they did not receive any notification from ICE, including information about the three Bloomington residents detained as of Friday.
The unexpected visit from ICE raised concerns among community members and advocacy groups. Malak Samara, member of the Palestine Solidarity Committee at IU, delivered a speech at the rally in which she said that the recent actions that ICE has taken in Bloomington are “disgusting.”
“We cannot allow America to continue to treat the very people that carry this country on their backs as if they are replaceable, as if they are invaluable and as if they are subhuman,” Samara said. “Immigrants are people just like us.”
In 100 days, President Donald Trump and his administration have arrested 150,000 undocumented immigrants and deported 139,000 of them.
“They are tearing families apart,” Samara said. “In the face of the current political climate, it is up to us to be there for them, to support and to protect them.”
As a part of this crackdown, the administration revised ICE’s policy on “sensitive locations.” ICE first established “sensitive locations” where immigration enforcement actions may not occur in 2011. According to a fact sheet from the Department of Education, these places included schools, medical facilities or places of worship.
“All children have a right to free public education, regardless of their actual or perceived immigration or citizenship status or that of their parents,” the fact sheet said.
As of Jan. 21, 2025, school grounds, churches and university campuses are no longer considered safe spaces. Attendees of the protest expressed concerns over safety for students and faculty at IU.
“We have had our own peers, our mothers, our fathers and children who have had to stay locked up in their houses for the past three days, afraid that ICE might show up,” Samara said. “Our university has breached the safety that they promised us.”
IU graduate student, Adri Cruz, said that they should be studying for exams. Instead, they’re fearing for their family and friends.
Among the protestors was Catya Murray, a Bloomington High School South teacher. Murray said the staff are worried about ICE waiting in parking lots and that it is ruining the mental and learning atmospheres in the building.
“I hope we go back to a sense of normality and due process,” Murray said. “I hope that moments like this really unearth how inequitable the system is.”
Others at the rally also mentioned the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and 14th Amendments. This clause guarantees fair treatment and legal protection for all individuals. This includes those facing removal or that have been detained by ICE.
A few signs also had the words “due process” written on them. Others took a different approach, choosing to use a play on words.
“End the ICE age,” one read.
Toward the end of the rally, Bloomington Alliance for Immigrant Rights organizers recommended people to memorize the National Lawyers Guild federal defense hotline, 212-679-2811. The NLG provides resources for resisting federal repression.
They also explained that the place where students have the most rights is inside their dorm or home. ICE agents must have a search warrant signed by a judge, dated and timestamped with their full legal name of the person to enter a home.
The rally lasted about an hour, but protestors leaving the rally could be seen walking down Kirkwood Avenue, holding signs and chanting once more.
“Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE,” they shouted.
