On February 8, 2025, The people of Harrisonburg came alive to protest mass immigration, ICE, and racist federal policies. Shouts of “The people, united, will never be divided!” and “Say it loud, say it clear, Immigrants are welcome here!” could be heard throughout the town as hundreds of residents marched from Mason St to Grace + Main Cafe in support of the nation’s Immigrants.
The peaceful protest, organized by a city resident, proved to be a success as it not only attracted hundreds more people than expected but also gained media interest. As ICE raids and interrogations were getting more rampant in Harrisonburg, they wanted to take action for the immigrant population.
The President of the Harrisonburg/Rockingham Young Devs, a student at UVA, stated, “We need to stop Project 2025. It’s trying to take over our country and create a fascist state, which is absolutely not what our country was founded to be. We need to create it in our best image, and that includes every single American, including all of our undocumented Americans.”
On February 7, Donald Trump commented on creating a White House Faith Office and signed an official Executive Order to do so on the 9th. When asked, the President of JMU’s Democrat club believed that this was blatantly unconstitutional. “I’m sure that’ll be tried in the courts for unconstitutionality. Let’s hope that the courts do the right thing. However, our Supreme Court, who are just genuflecting to the president, might disagree and it’s scary honestly.”
The Young Devs are preparing for an upcoming annual Convention, scheduled from March 28-30, which will give Harrisonburg residents the chance to discuss and plan more protests, strikes, walk-outs, and so on.
Certain policies are making it difficult for programs to aid those in need. A Harrisonburg resident expresses how important it is for the town to speak out against these policies for the sake of the community. “I’d like for us to say, ok, we can handle our immigrants. All of the funding got cut off from resettlement programs, and Trump has put a stop to accessing documents, like lists of volunteers.”
With Harrisonburg being highly populated by the Latin community, concerns are being raised on how the city plans to address them. As of February 14th, there have been no official statements from City Council.
With this, a High School Student would like to hear more from those in power. “I would like them to show their support, because at school the day where we had a day with no immigrants, I saw no support, only hatred. I feel like they should at least make a statement about how we as students and college students as well, should be protected.”
With the onslaught of discriminating policies, people have gotten bolder with their acts of racism. A Puerto Rican resident comments that she’s had to remove the Puerto Rican Flag from her car to avoid it getting scratched.
“People are being aggressive. I’ve been screamed at and insulted. I’ve been told to go back to Mexico, where I’m not even from. If I speak a different language, I’m frowned upon and looked at like I’m an alien or a strange person from another world.” She said. “It shouldn’t be that way.”
The students of Harrisonburg urge the United States Government to, “have a heart. What they’re doing right now is inhumane and is not how you treat people. We are people.”
