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College Republicans United asks students to report fellow classmates to ICE this Friday

The event is facing backlash for going against the University's charter of inclusion

College Republicans Breaking.jpg

The Memorial Union on Tempe campus on Monday, January 30, 2023.


College Republicans United at ASU is asking students to report "their criminal classmates to ICE for deportations" this Friday at 10 a.m. at a tabling event, according to an email by CRU. The organization plans to table near the Starbucks at the Memorial Union in Tempe.

"If they are choosing not to abide by (the legal immigration process), and they're on campus taking the spot of a position where an American citizen should be there instead, that's obviously something that needs to be fixed," said Rick Thomas, the founder of CRU and the treasurer of Republicans United LLC. 

Thomas said the intention of hosting the event is to speak with "like-minded" individuals on immigration policies, while also urging the need for students to report other fellow students to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"It's to get attention," Thomas said. "Otherwise people would not really give it a whole lot of thought. We usually do these sorts of events that are very provocative."

The student organization is also selling shirts with their logo on the front and the title "ICE Volunteer" on the back, as well as the logo of the Department of Homeland Security. 

Thomas said the group has also addressed safety concerns from previous encounters and responses from liberal-leaning organizations. 

"We've gotten a lot of assurances from faculty that should any problems arise, campus police would be there to, you know, squash any kind of violence," Thomas said.

Thomas referred to an event in November 2019 where CRU invited the ICE and Israel Defense Forces on campus. CRU was hosting ICE in the Business Administration C-Wing when protesters from student groups such as No Más Muertes ASU, MECHA de ASU, Young Democratic Socialists of America at ASU, Students for Justice in Palestine and Students for Socialism protested the event from outside of the building for almost four hours.

READ MORE: Students protest against events hosting ICE and IDF

Hayden Nguyen, a sophomore studying management and business and co-chair of Students for Justice in Palestine, said the University has a responsibility to ensure students feel safe on campus and advised the University to protect students who may feel this event puts them in jeopardy.

"ASU is known for, or tries to pride itself on free speech sometimes, but this is a real threat to people who are actively contributing to the environment that we have here, and a threat to people who have rights and are human," Nguyen said. "This is demoralizing. This is dehumanizing."

Frida Guzmán, the student director of Inclusive Excellence, wrote an email criticizing the tabling and asking for action from ASASU to "ensure that ASU's charter and reputation as a University are upheld and respected."

"The event that College Republicans United is planning will be harmful and threatening to students, faculty, and staff," Guzmán wrote. "Furthermore, it is in direct opposition to the ASU charter, by attempting to exclude members of our student body and not taking responsibility for the overall health of the community that ASU serves."

Other members of the community, including Arizona Rep. Greg Stanton, took to social media to talk about the event.

According to Thomas, CRU is permitted to host tabling events like this as it is a campus organization with a faculty advisor.

"We can't really organize on campus without ASU approval anyway," Thomas said. "That's generally true for all the clubs on campus, but it's the freedom of speech, and if anyone has an issue with it, then they probably shouldn't be a student on campus anyway."

The University did not respond to an immediate request for comment. 

This story is developing and may be updated.

Edited by Senna James, Sophia Braccio, Katrina Michalak, Tiya Talwar and Alexis Heichman.


Reach the reporter at gheadle@asu.edu and @George_Headley7 on X.

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George Headley Politics Editor

George is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is his third semester with The State Press. He has also worked at Times Media Group.


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