Hundreds of Latine and LGBTQ+ community members have received racist and homophobic threats similar to the racist text messages that African Americans received referencing enslavement earlier this month, the FBI said in a statement on Friday.
These texts have heightened fear among students following President-elect Donald Trump’s announced deportation plans set to get into effect as soon as he takes office.
“Some recipients reported being told they were selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp,” the agency said.
Others received messages referencing forceful removal by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A screenshot of one of the texts shared with NBC News reads, “You have been one of the selected immigrants that is set to be deported. Our Executive ICE team will come and get you in a Brown Van.”
Black students who had received the messages say that they were sent by supporters of President-elect Trump, although a spokesperson for the Trump campaign denied participation saying they “have absolutely nothing to do” with the messages.
The text messages seem to target teenagers and young adults specifically all sent by anonymous phone numbers. The FBI has yet to pinpoint exactly who is sending the messages or where they are coming from.
There were 63.1 million Hispanic-identifying people living in the United States in 2022, according to Census data. In 2020, one in four children in the U.S. were of Hispanic origin with almost 94% of Latino youth under 18 being U.S. born and raised.
“I think with how conservative the country’s about to get, a lot of people are seizing the opportunity to be hateful and oppressive. It’s really disheartening to see because it’s in moments of crisis that we need to show solidarity and show support,” said USC student Aditya Thiyag.
“While this might not be anything more than like teenagers trolling, doing something that they see as an innocent prank, it’s a harmful threat that might lead to actual violence against marginalized communities,” he added.
According to the Williams Institute, there are approximately 3.2 million LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of eight and 18, with more than half of whom are youth of color (compared to 39% of LGBTQ adults who are people of color).
On college campuses, worries, anger and disappointment grow as more students become aware of the harassment. 17.1% of the University of Southern California’s fall 2024 class identifies as Hispanic or Latine.
“It angers me because that level of intolerance is just unacceptable all across the board, and it’s frustrating to see that, you know, this year, sort of the progress that has been made that people try to make in this civil rights movement and beyond that. We need to do more,” said Enzo Luna, a master’s student.
“Some people might brush them off as not that serious. But you know, things like this then translate into violence, and it angers me,” he added.
Some students worry that the messages could lead to violence against minorities. In 2022, the city of Los Angeles was one of 10 major cities to see an increase of hate crimes against marginalized communities with a total of 98 crimes against the LGBTQ+ community and 88 against Latinos.
“I was shocked, as it happened so quickly after the election. But was I surprised? Not really. There’s been a lot of racist remarks on the internet forever, so I’m not really surprised by that… It’s just disappointing. I think that that’s not a good joke to make. No joke should have been made after this election, considering the amount of lives that will be affected,” said USC student Makayla Idelburg.
Students and community members impacted by the messages can turn to various campus resources for support. USC’s Gould Immigrant Legal Assistance Center (ILAC) provides free legal counsel and other assistance to undocumented/DACA Trojans and community members. The Undocumented Trojans Success Assembly (UTSA) is a student assembly “committed to creating a safe space for undocumented students and allies,” regularly hosting workshops and office hours for students.