Nationwide immigration raids ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration have unnerved some University of Arizona students who fear that their classmates could become targets of the country’s mass deportation efforts to remove millions of illegal entrants.

“Isn’t it a part of the American dream to be able to go to college and create a better life for yourself, right? Now these people and their education is being threatened,” said Isabella Hernandez, a 20-year-old UA student. 

Trump signed an executive order after his Jan. 20 inauguration calling for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to rescind a policy that protected “safe spaces” from immigration enforcement. These spaces include schools, hospitals, churches and courthouses. 

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman said in a statement on Jan. 21. 

According to DHS, there have been 61,630 removals since the beginning of the year.

On Tuesday, Arjun Phull, a UA student government senator for the College of Science,  uploaded a press release on Instagram regarding the recent changes at the university. 

The release detailed that “… under the latest guidelines, ICE and CBP are now permitted to conduct raids on our campus.” The release also included information on students’ rights and where to find help. 

First-year psychology major Aaron Sullivan, 23, from New Hampshire, said that there are many factors that play a part when it comes to government decisions like these. He said it is hard to have a set opinion on the situation.

“I don’t think anyone’s necessarily evil; I don’t think it’s the good guys against the bad guys,” he said.

Sullivan said that he has very close friends who are Dominican, Colombian and of Hispanic descent. 

“I don’t like the idea that there could be potentially illegal activity coming into the U.S. or onto campus, however I feel very deeply for the people who are in the heart of situations and they feel that they have no choice,” he said.

For 18-year-old freshman Leslie Jimenez who has family from Mexico, these immigration efforts hit close to home.

“I feel like a lot of people’s lives are being vulnerable right now,” she said. “They’re having to change their lives, like 360, completely. They’re losing their jobs, they’re being forced to leave their homes, their families and everything just because somebody decided to change (a policy) from one day to another.” 

When talking about her family, she explained how thankful she was that this situation has not affected them nor her. However, she said she is concerned for those who may be more vulnerable to arrest. 

“I know people who are around me who are scared of what’s coming for them, and it’s so sad to see,” she said. 

Isabella Hernandez, a UA junior of Hispanic heritage, said she is angry about the decisions policymakers have made. 

“The political state of our country and the government right now it’s absolutely terrifying. It is so sickening, it is so sad,” she said. “I feel like the (the White House) should know, especially because they’re high government officials, how much the country depends on immigrants, how much they actually do.” 

Hernandez said her grandfather emigrated to the U.S. from Michoacan, Mexico, leaving his country to seek safety and better opportunities. She questioned the negative stereotypes placed on immigrants.

“I don’t understand why (the government) is painting this narrative about Mexicans and immigrants, how they’re solely coming here to sell drugs, to be criminals,” Hernandez said. “It’s creating this narrative that they are bad people, that they do not deserve to be here.” 

She reflected on her grandfather’s journey navigating the immigration system and all he had built for his family. She said that regardless of the amount of time and money that is needed to become a citizen, her grandfather made it happen. 

She described how dehumanizing the entire situation is considering the hurdles immigrants must jump in order to become citizens. 

“They are dehumanizing them, ripping them away from their families,” she said. “It is not just about immigration; it is rooted in racism.” 

For more information regarding your rights when interacting with ICE or Border Patrol, visit University of Arizona Immigrant Student Resource Center (ISR) at https://immigrant.arizona.edu/ 

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.