Scar Rulien, sophomore, arrested alongside dozens of protestors in Florida
Scar Rulien, a member of the Sunrise Movement and sophomore studying Sociology, was among the 31 people arrested on Nov. 22 at the Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Before protesting at the Krome Detention Center, members of the Sunrise Movement and local community members gathered outside the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” for a rally. Protesters wore shirts reading “ICE kidnapped my neighbor” and held signs with monarch butterflies, a symbol for immigrant rights, and slogans such as “Abolish ICE” and “A better world is possible”.
The protest was held to take a stand against the Trump administration’s deportations and treatment of people held in the detention centers.
Some estimates indicate that approximately 59,000 immigrants are currently held in detention centers throughout the country.
Florida, and Miami in particular, has been a large target for ICE raids. Florida is one of several states where local law enforcement aid ICE in their efforts to meet lofty deportation quotas set by the Trump administration.
After the rally at Alligator Alcatraz, some of the protesters went to the Krome Detention Center in.
According to a statement released by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the group blocked the entrance to Krome Detention Center and refused orders to move, leading to their arrest.
“While we fully support the right to peaceful expression, we must also maintain safety and ensure access to critical facilities,” the statement read. “After repeated dispersal orders were ignored, multiple individuals were arrested for trespassing.”
Rulien, who flew from Boise to Florida for the protest, emphasized the importance of protesting what he described as a “rise of authoritarianism in our government”. He was charged with trespassing property after warning and resisting an officer without violence to his person.
“We need to do everything we can to take a stand. Everybody, regardless of class or race or really anything, deserves fair treatment,” Rulien said. “If that’s not given, then I feel like it is my duty to stand up where I can and use any privilege I have for good.”
Rulien recounted his “stressful” experience being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK), noting the group was often given conflicting answers about routine things such as whether they could use the bathroom.
“A few of us were held longer in the initial holding room because we self-reported [health issues], and that whole process was tedious and overly bureaucratic,” Rulien said.
Rulien added he was told by doctors in the jail he would be given access to necessary medication, but was not granted it.
“Going to jail itself was so stressful and awful and a horrible process. We were already treated so poorly in so many ways,” Rulien said. “I could not even begin to comprehend how bad it is in [ICE detention facilities], and that’s ultimately why I decided to act in the first place.”
Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding Rulien’s allegations.
Rulien was released around noon on Sunday, Nov. 23.
Artivista Karlin, an organizer with the Duke University chapter of the Sunrise Movement and a junior studying International Comparative Studies with a focus on Latin America, was also arrested at the protest at Krome Detention Center.
“Throughout the entire process [I was] thinking about the privilege that we have as US citizens, to be able to stand up and fight back for our neighbors who are not US citizens,” Karlin said. “Going to jail is a very small sacrifice compared to the horrors that happened under ICE detention and the deportation process in this country.”
A monthslong Senate investigation into immigration detention centers identified 510 credible reports of human rights abuses, including 41 allegations of physical or sexual abuse, 18 alleged reports of mistreatment of children in custody and 14 alleged reports of mistreatment of pregnant women. The Department of Homeland Security refutes the claims.
Karlin spoke at the rally earlier that day at Alligator Alcatraz about their experiences as a child of immigrants.
“[My parents] came to the United States to build a better life for their families, for their kids, for me. That’s why I’m studying at Duke now to fulfill their dreams. They also taught me that we all, we always, must stand up for others,” Karlin said. “Especially now during these times where immigrant communities are being ripped apart and people all across this country are being filled with fear … There’s nothing else that I could do than to fight for my communities.”
Sanshray Kukutla, a member of the Sunrise Movement at Purdue University studying Political Science and graduate of Timberline High School, said he related to the personal testimonies of the speakers at the rally.
“I carry my green card with me every day, and fear that ice can stop me on the street and … take me away,” said Kukutla. “When [speakers at the rally] talked about how they were holding their passport with them, keeping their passport on their mobile phones, I really resonated with that.”
Earlier this year, Purdue students had their visas revoked amid Trump’s immigration crackdown, one of whom Kukutla said he knew. Kukutla said he worries about the future.
“This specific year, I’ve been living in almost constant fear of not being sure if I can keep my plans for this year,” Kukutla said.
Kukutla recounted how seeing so many people come out to the rally made him feel supported.
According to Shiva Rajbhandari, who participated in the rally with the Sunrise Movement, one of the goals of the rally was to show support for immigrant communities. Rajbhandi is a Boise High graduate and former Boise School trustee attending the University of North Carolina.
“[We] came out to Alligator Alcatraz to demonstrate that we stand with [immigrants], and we’re not going to let our communities be torn apart like this without fighting back,” said Rajbhandari. “And to send a strong message at the heart of Trump’s authoritarian project that young people are not going to go down without a fight.”
Rajbhandari’s home state of Idaho has also experienced immigration raids. On Oct. 19, 2025, ICE and other law enforcement officers raided a privately owned race track in Wilder, where 400 people were detained.
“You can see, even in Idaho, the repressive effect of having a federal police force invading our local communities. Immigrant neighbors are scared to leave their homes. They’re scared to go to school. They’re scared to go to work. They’re getting picked off, picked up at farms, at daycare centers. They’re getting racially profiled,” Rajbhandari said. “I think the scarier thing is the way it has been normalized, where destructive, horrible things that happen[ed] in Wilder and are happening all across the country.”
While the Sunrise Movement typically focuses on environmental issues, Rajbhandari, Karlin and Rulien noted the movement also focuses on resisting authoritarianism. They note that environmental issues closely intersect with race, class, gender and immigration.
Rulien emphasized that people shouldn’t wait to take action until “the issue is at our front door.”
“I believe there’s a growing ICE presence in Boise … We’ve seen it in other areas, you know, like Florida, where ICE presence has become a very big issue and has just been completely inhumane. I don’t see it being any different when it does come [to Boise],” Rulien said. “I don’t think we should take a stand just because it’s here and it’s in our backyards. Everybody is important and of value.”
