As we approach Valentine’s Day, a day centered on celebrating love and togetherness, the United States is accelerating an agenda of fascism and racist hatred. The speeches of our President and MAGA officials are filled with dehumanizing rhetoric that have somehow managed to applaud public executions and excuse the kidnapping of a five-year-old pre-schooler.
So far in 2026, America’s modern-day Gestapo has murdered eight people through withholding medical aid, physical violence or straight up shootings. A record of over 70,000 people are being held in detention on any given day. The Trump Administration reported over 675,000 forced deportations and 2.2 million self-deportations for 2025. That's hundreds of thousands of families, friends and partners torn apart, forced away from their homes and loved ones into detention centers.
Of course, we can discuss how ICE has detained and even murdered American citizens, people with legal asylum cases and lawful permanent residents. We can mention that 92% of those detained since Sept. 21, 2025 have had no criminal convictions and 72% did not even have a criminal charge. However, kidnapping, terrorizing or dehumanizing any person, regardless of their citizenship status is cruel and disgusting. As the popular protest slogan puts it, “No One Is Illegal on Stolen Land.”
The fight to abolish ICE is also not just about Trump’s rampant abuse of immigration enforcement for his own purposes of ethnic cleansing. True liberation will come from dismantling an order of systemic oppression that both Democrats and Republicans uphold. After all, in his eight years as President, Barack Obama — criticised as “Deporter in Chief” — deported over 3 million people.
Cornell University, once again, is complicit in this regime of federal abuse. Cornell Career Services promotes ICE, with job postings such as “Deportation Officer” on Handshake and positions in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on the Career Services website. Erica Kryst, executive director of Cornell Career Services, excused the University’s support of Trump’s fascist goons saying, “Cornell does not promote certain jobs over others.”
First of all, Cornell Career Services affirms that there are certain principles that companies are required to follow, “We expect our partners to recognize the powerful impact that diversity, inclusion and belonging bring to their organizations and the workforce.” ICE constantly engages in racial profiling, targeting Black and brown community members, students and workers. Agents often base their arrests off nothing more than color and accents. Obviously, wherever U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is, there exists a threat to “diversity, inclusion and belonging.”
Secondly, blind deference to inclusivity without any critical thinking regarding ethics or the safety of the student body is deplorable. When a job posting entails joining a brutal law enforcement force that tears apart families, kidnaps children and murders protesters, then it is the moral responsibility of the university to NOT advertise it. International students comprise 26% of the University’s undergraduate population, many of whom would be at risk if ICE ever appeared on campus. Thus, Cornell’s ‘neutrality’ actually favors facism over the safety of a quarter of its student body.
Cornell Career Services even invited Anduril, an AI-powered weapons manufacturing company, to campus on Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. in Phillips Hall 101. As the sole provider of autonomous surveillance towers to the U.S.-Mexico border, Anduril is responsible for the detaining of hundreds of thousands of migrants.
When surrounded by the constant news of kidnappings, lawless detention and death while attending a university that refuses to take a stand against such brutality, it's hard to celebrate Valentine's Day with a clear conscience. All around America, immigrant families are constantly afraid of that ‘knock on the door’ or surprise workplace raid. We cannot allow business to go along as usual without becoming complicit cogs in the Trump Administration’s fascist government.
To combat this specter of oppression that hangs over our country and University we need to become a sanctuary campus.
This means a formalized policy that clearly bans ICE from all University property and prohibits collaboration with CUPD or Cornell administration. To protect immigrant students and staff, Cornell must refuse to share any information with federal agencies unless a real and legal warrant is provided. Cornell’s administration should hold widely publicized ‘Know Your Rights’ training and distribute materials informing the Cornell community of safety protocols if encountering external law enforcement officials.
Student groups on campus are already fighting for these policies. In September 2025, the Student Assembly unanimously passed Resolution 9, which resolved that “Cornell Career Services shall cease any existing collaboration with ICE and/or Customs and Border Protection and shall not collaborate with, advertise events for, or engage in any activity promoting the efforts of ICE or Customs and Border Protection.”
On Feb. 4, over 100 students rallied to denounce federal abuses, condemn Cornell’s complicity and express solidarity with those targeted. You can tell that the true spirit of love and togetherness lies within these struggles. Students of all backgrounds came together to proclaim, “No Hate, No Fear, Immigrants are Welcome Here.”
However, protests and Student Assembly resolutions can only us so far. ICE is still on Handshake, Anduril is still invited to recruit on campus. Kotlikoff has ignored Resolution 9. It is clear that the Cornell administration will not enact sanctuary campus policies without adequate pressure.
We need to do more and I'm certain that we can. We have shown that hundreds of students can come together to demand that the University grow a spine and a conscience. We are on the side of love and acceptance, and thus will not stop until all students can pursue their academic and political passions without fear.
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Mina Petrova '29 is a Freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences studying English, History, and Government. Her fortnightly column ‘North Star’ studies the past and critiques the present, focusing on politics, protests and activism that strive toward a more equitable future. She can be reached at mpetrova@cornellsun.com.
