With the passage of Prop 314 in Arizona and a slew of presidential executive orders in recent weeks, groups are hosting events at the University of Arizona to empower students to know their rights and to stand for what they believe in.
Arizona Center for Empowerment (ACE) is a nonprofit working to motivate undocumented working youth and adults to take pride and responsibility in their journey to justice.
On Jan. 24, ACE collaborated with the Guerrero Student Center on campus on a training for students to know more about their rights as an American citizen and an immigrant. Members of the community came together to learn about what one can do to secure their citizenship rights.
Environmental justice organizer Joseph “Rocky” Riveras said he hopes that students will recognize the power they have to make their own decisions when it comes to citizenship.
“We thought it was important to create ACE to continue our fight for social-racial economic justice,” he said. “We draw the line of our beliefs of the civil rights movement as a whole.”
Riveras was impressed with how many students were coming together for a common purpose.
“We wanted to do something at the U of A because there were all people from different walks of life coming together to study,” he said. “There is a big international population here at the U of A.”
The group held the training in responding to recent changes in Arizona and nationwide that could impact students and their communities.
Last year, Arizonans voted to pass Prop 314, which establishes penalties against people residing in the United States with false documentation and allows state and local police to arrest noncitizens who cross the border unlawfully, according to the Arizona legislature.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has also signed dozens of executive orders, including some ending birthright citizenship, allowing immigration enforcement in previously “safe” spaces like schools and hospitals, and blocking programs and applications allowing asylum into the United States.
Jasmine Tafolla, ASUA executive vice president and core lead volunteer of ACE, planned the event so students could gather and learn more about what is going on at the local and national level.
“Before this all happened, it already seemed important and prevalent, given that Arizona is a border state,” she said. “Not a lot of students know their rights.”
As a law major, she sees laws applied to students on campus as something everyone should be aware of.
“Now we’re seeing raids take place on campus and high schools, even surrounding areas,” she said. “So just from myself being a student and being part of that community, I think this is more than important to know our rights.”
Tafolla wants the student community to understand that their feelings about these events are valid, but she also wants them to stand their ground and know their rights regardless of immigration status.
”Even if a student might have a sibling or a family member that is undocumented, they can pass along that information from these training sessions, which is why we hold these events, so they can take what they’ve learned and share it to their communities and continue spreading it out,” she said.
This kind of movement can increase motivation for those affected to push back against the government, Riveras added.
“One thing that builds people’s power is the power to move our government and our politicians. I have an inner belief that if we build that kind of power, we can hold those accountable,” he said.
The Immigrant Student Resources at the University of Arizona will be holding a Know Your Rights session on February 20 at 6 p.m. It will include immigration legal partners available to inform the community and provide pro-bono legal consultations for students.
Those interested can sign up here.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
