The IWU College Democrats RSO held their “Breaking the ICE” event on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. There, ICE’s recent actions were highlighted, and calls to action were emphasized.
President of IWU College Democrats, senior Khel Gordhan gave an opening address, giving background to the actions of ICE and emphasizing the recent outrage over the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota. He connected the large protests that made their way through the country after these murders with the action that must be taken here by saying ICE’s “campaign of terror still continues in other parts of the country.”
Gordhan also discussed IWU junior Joytu Chowdhury, who was detained by ICE back in December. He emphasized that “it’s clear to me now more than ever we need to stand up to ICE.” He then introduced the first of two guest speakers, Representative Sharon Chung, an IWU alum and a Representative for the 91st district of Illinois.
Representative Chung is the daughter of Korean immigrants and has been involved with politics since 2017, during Trump’s first term. She told the audience that her involvement was personal because her parents came to the U.S. in search of a better life.
When describing the actions of ICE, she said that it “chills me to my core.” She explained that she was pushing for legislation to support the members of her community because she believes that they shouldn’t deny anyone from that same opportunity that her parents sought. Her insights brought hope to the audience, including first-year Ellie McEnery, who said that “it was nice to be in a room with people who have a common desire to make change.”
The second guest speaker was Vice Chair for the McLean County Democrats Josh Crockett. He reiterated that “legislation is incredibly impactful,” but also pushed that it must be enforceable and constitutional. He spoke of his joy that the IWU College Democrats were back in action. He stated that “we’re going to take care of our own” and that it was important that everyone continue to be involved.
The session wrapped up with a 20-minute Q&A session that was moderated by IWU College Democrat’s treasurer junior Matthew Mausard. There the audience had written questions down on sheets of paper to be asked to the guest speakers. The Q&A session focused on how people can get involved. Both the representative and Crockett agreed that young people must “keep speaking up, keep being involved” (Chung). They highlighted the importance of creating a community to be involved and to be able to stand up against ICE. They praised IWU College Democrats for creating that community and encouraged everyone to be involved because, according to Representative Chung, “you can’t be neutral on something like this,” and Crockett stated that it “comes down to hard work.”
The key takeaways that the group agreed on was reaching out to members of the government, voting in upcoming elections, showing up to protests (including the No Kings protest on March 26th) and to have each other’s back. They also highlighted the importance of taking care of ourselves and Crockett reassured the group that no event is too small and therefore our involvement is crucial in times like these. All in all, this event was one that brought together students and faculty who believe in being involved in the fight against ICE.
