By Pro-mass deportation political commentators engaged in heated debates with Long Beach State students near the University Student Union and Friendship Walk amid growing tensions over immigration policy.
Conservative content creator James Klüg known for his street interviews, captured exchanges on camera while fellow commentator Cam Higby stood nearby, holding a sign that read, “We support mass deportation”, which quickly grabbed the attention of students who gathered around.
Students at Long Beach State flood the friendship walk Feb. 24 as YouTuber James Klüg goes to CSULB to discuss mass deportation. Photo Credit: Samuel Chacko
Among the students gathered was Alyssa Portillo, a psychology major, who observed the scene and said the demonstration was designed to evoke a reaction from the spectators.
“Obviously, being Hispanic and having a family who are, quote-unquote, illegal, it’s just hard to see people who are full of hate,” Portillo said. “You can see it in their eyes; they don’t want answers. They don’t want to be proven wrong. They just want to piss people off.”
Other students vocally denounced the demonstrators, with several expressing outrage and condemning their stance on deportation, emphasizing the impact such views have on immigrant communities.
In response, Klüg defended his presence on campus, stating that conversations about illegal immigration are what lead to debates at CSULB.
“We just experienced the worst border crisis in American history over the last four years, and people– predictably– are advocating, ‘Hey, absolutely no punishment for the people who came into the country illegally.’ Sorry, we are a nation of laws,” Klüg said. “We don’t want to be encouraging more illegal immigration.”
Julio Ruiz, a 22-year old criminal justice major, spoke with YouTuber and content creator James Klüg regarding immigration policies on Feb. 24 at the Friendship Walk. Photo Credit: Samuel Chacko.
As the crowd grew, students began writing their own messages on paper to counter Klüg and Higby, showing their support for immigrants in the crowd.
One of those students, Xavier Esparza, a psychology major, offered his perspective on the topic, relating it to his family’s immigrant background.
“My family comes from a long history of immigrants. We are a Mexican family and a Mexican household. I had grandparents who struggled coming here, struggled to get their papers and fought for their rights to be here,” Esparza said.
Nevertheless, Esparza noted that if students had been given time to prepare for such demonstrations, they would have been ready to counter-argue.
“Anybody who was to come up and go against these guys in a conversation or a debate will lose,” Esparza said. “They come prepared already. We literally just come out, see the signs and want to argue automatically. So them coming out without giving us a sense of notice, for us to be able to be like okay, if you want to debate give us a time to give you a debate.”
