When Donald J. Trump won the United States presidency in November, Jonathan Morales, a sophomore studying music industry and a first-generation student, had a rude awakening.
“I remember the day after the election, I took a good look around campus and realized so many of my peers likely voted for him,” Morales said. “It scares me about the direction of our country.”
Within the first week of taking office for his second non-consecutive term, President Donald J. Trump signed several executive orders and delivered on campaign promises with the potential to impact countless Americans—including first-generation students.
First-generation students are those whose parents or legal guardians did not attend college for higher learning. Of the 8,050 USC students in the incoming fall freshman class, 22% were first-generation students.
“Every day, I wake up to new notifications about policies he’s either enacting or revoking,” Morales said. “My hope for us as a country to make progress after his term weakens every time I see new notifications.”
After his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship, granted to anyone born on American soil per the 14th Amendment. If passed, it would prevent children of undocumented parents, who made up nearly 4 million students in higher education in 2022 according to the Higher Ed Immigration portal, from automatically becoming citizens.
Although Federal Judge John C. Coughenour later blocked Trump’s order to process lawsuits filed by multiple states, the controversial move could drastically affect future generations and their pursuit of higher learning.
Trump went on to sign other executive orders ranging from declaring a national emergency along the southern border and terminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in the federal government.
“I have had many friends who have been impacted by Trump’s ban on DEI programs, losing internships and fellowships that would have been very valuable career opportunities and given them the experiences, connections, and support that so many first-generation, low-income and minority students have been denied access to for centuries,” Yvette Castañeda, vice president of League of United Latin American Citizens at USC, said.
While not an executive order, he also pardoned roughly 1,500 people connected to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Among those pardoned, 14 who were sentenced had ties to extremist groups such as the Proud Boys, a group known for their misogynistic, anti-LGBTQ+, antisemitic and anti-immigrant views.
“Trump pardoning the January 6th rioters who violently attacked our nation’s capital, while simultaneously trying to deport millions of undocumented immigrants whose only crime was wanting a better life truly shows that he is not committed to upholding “law and order,” but is more concerned with targeting people of color,” Castañeda said.
Trump previously vowed in a campaign video on Sept. 13, 2024, to dismantle the Department of Education. The agency is directly responsible for student benefits through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and other programs. According to USC, “More than two-thirds of our undergraduates receive some sort of financial aid.” That includes money provided by FAFSA.
“It concerns me that he is seemingly against the being of the Department of Education that funds various programs [like] FAFSA that I and other first-generation college students depend on to attend prestigious, costly institutions such as USC,” said Daisy Montesinos-Rivera, a junior majoring in law, history and culture.
Morales believes that the moves made by the Trump administration will give students who are second-generation or beyond a chance to understand the pressure first-generation students experience.
“Reach out to friends who are first-generation,” Morales said. “You won’t understand their experience until you ask. Attending college to non-first-generation students may seem like the natural progression of their career, but to first-generation students, it means so much more.”