The uptick in immigration enforcement is present all across the United States and now here at Keene State.
Earlier this week, The Equinox reported breaking news of a KSC professor and his family being denied re-entry into the country.
“In late December, The Equinox received a tip that a KSC professor and Chinese national, along with their family, had been deported from a vacation cruise ship,” according to The Equinox.
Assistant Professor of Management Hao “Tommy” Huang encountered U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Tampa, Fla., in December of 2025, according to an email statement from University System of New Hampshire (USNH) Director of Communications, Outreach and Enrollment Lisa Thorne.
The Equinox feels it is crucial that students, staff and residents of N.H. understand that we cannot turn a blind eye to the unlawful acts being committed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) right on our doorstep.
It is easy to scroll past headlines focusing on immigration violence in midwestern states, but we cannot be blissfully ignorant when the problem is right in front of us. Huang is a member of our campus community and it is our responsibility to ensure his story is not buried under the rubble of American and Israeli bombs.
With that being said, it has been three months since the deportation of Huang and his family. It is alarming that we are only just now receiving confirmation of his deportation.
Given the college’s previous willingness to comply with government crackdowns on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) without any hesitation, we are concerned that the lack of conversation surrounding Huang’s deportation is being driven by fear. Even so, that fear is minuscule compared to the terror that immigrants and their families face daily.
While we appreciate the information that the USNH’s spokesperson was able to provide us, there were several KSC employees who declined to interview on the subject. With the current global political climate, it is a privilege to decline to speak on the subject of deportation when countless people are risking their lives opposing political violence. With that privilege, it is absolutely necessary that we continue to bring attention to stories like Huang’s. If we do not, who will?
While Huang’s classes resume with different professors standing in for him, we cannot simply return to our so-called “normal” and act as if one of our own hasn’t been ripped from their life here in the States.
The lack of public information on this case is nothing short of infuriating. Regardless, the story remains that a professor at our school cannot continue the life he built here in Keene with his family. It is crucial that we support our neighbors now more than ever in the face of injustice and cruelty.
In instances where a person’s life is at risk of being entirely uprooted, speaking out is more important than ever. If we do not continue to advocate for change, we remain enablers and cowards who stand on the sidelines while lives are actively at risk.
The unlawful deportations of families who came to the U.S. hoping to build a brighter future did not stop in California and Minnesota. They are happening right now in front of our very eyes.
Immigrants are the genetic makeup of the United States. Unless you are of Native American descent, your ancestors immigrated to America. It is hypocritical to turn our backs on one another.
Will you be complicit in the disappearance of your neighbors or will you be a part of the solution?
