Students share thoughts on new immigration policies

International students especially fear Donald Trump’s immigration policies out of concern for their families safety in the United States.

Trump has declared a national emergency at the southern border and signed executive orders targeting immigration since his inauguration on Jan 20. | OLIVER ECONOMIDIS / THE TEMPLE NEWS

At 17 years old, a student  — who The Temple News is identifying as G. to protect their privacy — embarked on a 12-hour bus ride from Mendoza, Argentina, to Buenos Aires to catch a flight to the United States. Driven by the desire for a better education and a brighter future, they left their home country with only their mother by their side.

Five years later, G. gained U.S. citizenship, enrolled at Temple and secured their own apartment.

Yet, despite all they’ve achieved, a new fear has emerged: their mother still hasn’t received her citizenship, and they’re increasingly concerned about how President Donald Trump’s immigration policies will affect their family.

“I’ve been thinking about all these hypothetical situations,” G. said. “She gets deported, I will have to drop out of school because I obviously have no money to pay for it, and then there is a whole rent that I’ll have to pay for, that I wouldn’t have the money for.”

Since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, he has declared a national emergency at the southern border and signed a slew of executive orders targeting immigration, including attempts at ending birthright citizenship, revoking Biden administration immigration policies and deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the country. These policies have resulted in mass waves of fear across Temple and the United States, especially in Latino communities.

A recent ICE raid at a North Philadelphia car wash just miles from Main Campus resulted in the arrests of seven undocumented immigrants, six from Mexico and one from the Dominican Republic, CBS reported.

One of Trump’s executive orders removes spaces for undocumented immigrants to evade deportation, meaning ICE can now enter schools, healthcare facilities and places of worship.

“This week has probably been the worst for my anxiety, I would say, because of how much news has come out about the ICE in Philly and all of that stuff and how close it’s getting to me and my mom,” G. said. “I fear for my mom. I don’t fear for me, I feel fear for my mom.”

Temple President John Fry assured students and faculty ICE has not been on campus in a university-wide statement on Jan. 29. He also dispelled allegations of immigration forces near campus, in lieu of social media posts in the days prior claiming ICE was seen near a 7-Eleven on Cecil B. Moore Avenue. 

Temple’s Department of Public Safety also confirmed to The Temple News that the rumors were unfounded prior to Fry’s email.

“The uncertainty of the present moment has also led to an increase in rumors, which can quickly be amplified through social media,” Fry wrote in the email. “Please know that neither Temple’s Department of Public Safety nor the Philadelphia Police Department have any reports of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents being on campus.”

Kareena Ratnesh, president of Temple’s chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals for America, had a hard time believing Trump would stick to the claims he made during his run for presidency if he were elected. However, recent arrest and deportation reports made her worst fears come true, she said.

Trump enacted multiple policies during his first presidency in 2017 aiming to strengthen the southern border, reduce refugee admissions and heavily vet visa applications. During his 2024 campaign, he reaffirmed his stances and vowed to initiate the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”

“We always knew how Trump felt about immigrants and about those in the Latino community, and about those just immigrating from other countries,” said Ratnesh, a senior entrepreneurship and innovation management major. “And we always knew that he never really appreciated their presence here in the U.S. And I think just seeing all of this just act is really mind-blowing, I think for me, because I never once thought it could really happen.”

Trump’s executive orders have made a number of other Temple students feel unsafe in the U.S., even though most left their home countries in search of security and protection.

G. remembers the warmth and comfort of their family home in Argentina, which they shared with their cousins and grandparents. But they also acknowledge the safety concerns they faced in their home country, often worrying about frequent crime like theft. 

“My mom being a single mom, and me being the age and going out and going to different places, it was just very unsafe,” G. said. “So safety was one of the main things that we were kind of looking for here.”

Some students believe Trump’s policies have gone too far and echo G’s desire for empathy.

“I think [the recent executive orders are] completely inappropriate,” said Josie Carabello, a senior health professions major. “The United States is obviously a country that’s built on the backs of immigrants, and also that’s made up of a really broad range of people.”

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