Letter to the Editor: Buffalo SUNY BDS, CSL and UB YDSA put forward list of demands

Editor’s note: This letter remains in the condition in which it was sent.

April 16, 2025

On April 7th, the University at Buffalo (UB) community was notified that 13 students, including recent graduates, had their visas revoked by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This act is not an exception. At least 1,200 students across the United States are now facing deportation. These are not isolated bureaucratic errors. They are deliberate attempts by the state, under the Trump administration, to escalate fear and repression against immigrants and people of color as part of its openly fascist agenda. It is no coincidence that, nationwide, the first students attacked are those who spoke out against the ongoing Zionist genocide of the Palestinian people. Political prisoners like Mahmoud Khalil, Alireza Doroudi, Rumeysa Ozturk, Badar Khan Suri, and Leeqa Kordia are just a few of the many student activists across the U.S. who have been targeted for their defense of Palestine. UB presents itself as neutral. Neutrality in the face of fascism, however, is a political stance. In May of last year, UB police violently cracked down on a peaceful pro-Palestine encampment and arrested 15 protesters. That is not neutrality, it is active collaboration in the state’s repression of pro-Palestinian international students. UB has a moral obligation to do everything in its capacity to resist and oppose the fascist Trump administration, just as educational institutions once did under Jim Crow in the U.S. South, during apartheid in South Africa, and in Nazi Germany. Failure to do so will leave a stain on UB’s history that cannot be removed. We recognize that institutions like UB will not act unless forced to. That is why we, a coalition of organizations consisting of the Buffalo State University of New York Boycott Divest and Sanction (Buffalo SUNY BDS), the Communist Student League (CSL), and the University at Buffalo Young Democratic Socialists of America (UB YDSA), have come together to put forward a list of demands to UB. These demands are:

• That the University at Buffalo sign on to the SUNY Sanctuary Campus Campaign (details here: bit.ly/sunysanctuary) 
• That Dr. Satish Tripathi, UB International Student Services, and UB Immigration Services immediately issue public statements denouncing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the attacks on international students, staff, faculty, and alumni
• That UB leadership develop and release a plan by the end of the Spring 2025 semester to increase resources to advise and support international students, staff, faculty, and recent alumni
• That SUNY leadership develop a plan to expand its support for international students, staff, faculty, and alumni who are employed by UB or a UB-affiliated entity 

To escalate pressure and demonstrate opposition to these attacks, we are organizing two coordinated actions. On April 19th at 1 PM, we will hold a march from Niagara Square to Delaware and Chippewa and on April 21st at 1 PM, a march at Founders Plaza on UB North Campus. Masks are required. Please be aware that both actions may carry risk for undocumented and international students. UB has a choice to make. It can stand with its students, or it can continue to uphold a false pretense of neutrality. If the university fails to meet our demands, we will escalate.

In Solidarity,

Buffalo SUNY BDS • Communist Student League • UB YDSA

Maureen Milligan is a spokesperson for Buffalo SUNY BDS.