Penn State students march in street in support of immigrants, international students
A group of about 50 Penn State protesters gathered at the Allen Street Gates on Tuesday night before marching in the downtown streets, snarling traffic for about 40 minutes while attempting to spread their message in support of immigrants and international students.
Protesters from at least a dozen different clubs and groups, such as Students for Justice in Palestine and the Student Committee for Defense and Solidarity, spent about 45 minutes at the gates chanting and listening to speakers. After that, they stepped onto College Avenue while cars honked in the background.
“We’re protesting out here today because we love our community and we want everybody who’s an international student — these migrants in our community, these immigrants in our community — we want to make sure that they get to stay here,” one speaker said.
The protest came as a response to at least 170 colleges and universities across the United States having seen some of their international students and recent graduates being stripped of their legal status, according to data from Inside Higher Ed. Locally, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna has confirmed 22 Penn State students have had their visas revoked.
Cantorna told the CDT that none of the students with revoked legal status were convicted. All were on diversion programs, mostly due to retail theft and two due to DUI. “This is just a small snapshot over the last two weeks, but it’s something that we have never seen before,” Cantorna wrote in a Saturday email to the CDT.
Students who attended the protest and march said they wanted Penn State to do more to support its more than 9,000 international students. Luke Gosnell, a Penn State student, said he was disappointed with the university’s response.
“It’s just disgusting to see that as a student at Penn State, that this is how they’re treating their students, this is how they’re treating the community. That they’re willing to capitulate with ICE, they’re willing to let law enforcement just onto campus to take their students away,” Gosnell said. “They’re offering no support for students. They’re offering nothing. They won’t even offer an empty message of ‘we care about our students.’ They won’t even do the bare minimum, which is just, frankly, disgusting to see.”
Gosnell said he would rather Penn State not allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on campus or work with law enforcement, and provide legal services to students who are under threat.
Penn State previously would not share how many students have been impacted, and did not respond to an email Monday asking why it wouldn’t share the number or what it’s doing to support the students.
Tuesday’s march started on College Avenue and continued on Beaver Avenue before winding down on campus near Old Main. The temperature hovered in the 40s, while wind gusts reached as high as 39 mph when the protest ended around 8 p.m.
During the march, a motorcycle forced its way through the crowd, and the protesters allowed an ambulance to pass by. Only one police officer was spotted, toward the end of the march, when protesters began yelling “Shame on you!”
“We know that they’re not going to do anything when we come out here,” one of the protest’s speakers said. “We’re organized and we’re powerful.”
Protesters demanded that Penn State “take action to defend international and undocumented students, faculty, and staff.” They also demanded the administration refuse to cooperate with ICE.
In an April 3 letter to the community, Sabine Klahr, interim vice provost of Penn State Global, recommended international students keep their documentation regarding their visa status up to date and to carry copies of proof of status. She also wrote that federal law enforcement officers can’t enter private spaces — like residence halls, locked offices or other secured university spaces — without a warrant. Classrooms are not private spaces.
This story was originally published April 15, 2025 at 7:35 PM.
