After a summer of widespread immigration raids in Los Angeles, returning to campus has amplified fears among some undocumented students at USC. As these students mobilize for Undocumented Student Action Week, a California initiative to uplift undocumented students, they demand more support from the university.
“I actually was thinking about not coming back at all. I was thinking of taking a semester or a year off because I didn’t feel safe,” said a member of the Undocumented Trojan Success Assembly (UTSA), who requested anonymity out of concern for their safety.
The Undocumented Trojan Success Assembly is a student-led organization that advocates for students with Temporary Protection Status, DACA, AB540 and other undocumented students.
“I didn’t feel safe taking a flight here, which is usually how I have been getting here for the past couple of years, so I drove. It took me a week,” said the member of UTSA.
The UTSA member, who has been living in the U.S. undocumented for 10 years, expressed how the immigration crackdown has impacted their life as a university student.
“I feel like I have become more unmotivated to continue to do my assignments and study for tests because I feel that I have more important things to focus on, in terms of immigration,” said the student. “Especially as I’m about to graduate and enter the workforce, I feel even more unmotivated now because it’s becoming even harder to find work opportunities for those that lack work authorization.”
Detainments are rising across the country, with Chicago and Portland as the most recent targets of ICE raids and threats from the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops. According to a New York Times article on Thursday, LA county officials are considering declaring a state of emergency to relieve affected immigrants.
In January, a man was detained by immigration agents near USC’s campus. With the gates now being open, some students fear the possibility of ICE entering campus.
“I personally felt like the [ID checks] provided me with extra security if an immigration officer just came to campus,” said the UTSA student.
In a statement issued on Jan. 15, USC outlined its policy on how it will handle student and faculty interactions with immigration enforcement. The administration directed students to contact the Department of Public Safety and designated Niels Frenzen, co-director of the USC Gould Immigration Clinic’s Immigrant Legal Assistance Center, as the point of contact.
The plan outlined that the university will assist affected students in preserving financial aid and other awards, and will facilitate their re-enrollment if or when possible.
The sanctuary city of Los Angeles is home to 900,000 undocumented Angelenos, and immigrants make up more than 35% of the county’s population of 10 million residents, according to a study by the USC Dornsife Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration in 2020.
On June 6, these communities were hit hard when federal agents carried out several immigration raids, targeting a Home Depot, day labor centers and the Fashion District. Later that night, protesters and police officers clashed as demonstrations erupted downtown over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The rise in masked immigration agents and the unlawful deployment of National Guard troops and Marines in June only escalated the anger and fear in LA.
“It’s Los Angeles…you drive anywhere on the street, you’re going to see pop-ups. You’re going to see street vendors. But it just seemed like a ghost town during that time. No one was out on the street,” said Juan Carlos Guerra, owner of Taquería Frontera, in a Guardian article.
The raids may have shaken LA’s immigrant community, but they also mobilized people.
As the ICE raids spread, the momentum of demonstrations in LA grew to a mass movement. Protesters took to the streets in cities like New York, Atlanta and Chicago, according to NBC, calling for an end to mass deportation.
On Sept. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow ICE agents to profile people based on factors such as race, occupation, and language. The Department of Homeland Security threatened to “flood the zone” with immigration enforcement in Los Angeles in a post on X, intensifying fears.
“We’re likely going to continue to see ICE raids, specifically targeting communities of color and working-class communities. I think, unfortunately, that [decision] was a green light to continue what they’re doing,” said Jacqueline Bonilla-Fuentes, staff attorney and director of the USC Gould Immigrant Legal Assistance Center.
“I think a silver lining of that case is that it’s just one of the many issues that’s going to be addressed,” Bonilla-Fuentes continued. “That’s not the final decision on that case, and so hopefully better news comes out in the end.”
In California, there are close to 100,000 undocumented students in higher education, the largest population in the country.
UTSA partners with the USC Gould School of Law Immigration Clinic to provide ‘Know Your Rights’ workshops for undocumented students, U.S. citizens and allies. The Gould School of Law Immigration Clinic, staffed by attorneys and students, represents clients in Immigration Court, offering free legal services and resources in both English and Spanish.
The clinic includes the Immigrant Legal Assistance Center (ILAC), which provides free legal assistance to USC students, faculty, staff and family members, including legal representation, referrals and DACA renewal.
The Center also oversees the USC Emergency Arrest Hotline, a service specifically for the USC community. Members of the community can call the hotline for support if they are detained by police or immigration enforcement.
“We have our Know Your Rights resources, emergency family planning, presentations on travel and some policy changes with student visas,” said Bonilla-Fuentes.
Some students believe USC’s policy for responding to immigration enforcement falls short of an official statement of solidarity.
“I feel like they’re just avoiding the problem,” said the UTSA student. “We’re South Central, it’s so important for not just our student population, but also people who live in this neighborhood, to hear them take a stance on it.”
Amid unprecedented and divisive times, undocumented students are asking that USC support and protect them.
“I would love an open communication to be established so that we can start talking to those in the administration who have the power to change things,” said the UTSA student.
Living undocumented can be isolating and unpredictable, the student explained. “I had to reshape my goals to fit a lack of work authorization, not being able to leave the country or pursue a career that I actually am passionate about because of my undocumented status.”
Through UTSA, some undocumented students at USC have found strength and community within one another, building their own coalition. An initiative that UTSA has been continuously working on is the creation of an Undocumented Trojan Resource Center, a space for undocumented students to find work opportunities, receive mental health support and other services all in one place.
Currently, UTSA operates in the First Generation Plus Success Center. However, the UTSA student believes the university administration is blocking efforts to establish this resource center.
“There are so many spaces on campus that we could use, but they’re saying there’s no space. They’re just not offering any support,” said the UTSA student. “We’re still collecting signatures, but there is only so much we can do.”
October 13-17 is Undocumented Student Action Week. During this week at USC, students can come by the First Generation Plus Success Center to hear about the work of UTSA and sign their petitions, attend a Q&A with the Gould Immigration Clinic, a career panel of undocumented professionals and allies in the workforce and other events. On Tuesday, UTSA will host their annual banner drop at 10 a.m. at Alumni Park.
To the undocumented community, the UTSA student imparted a message: “Their humanity is not up for discussion, even though their lack of papers might be. I just want them to know they’re not alone.”