UC Davis students describe the emotional and situational tolls that immigrant communities face
By GRACIELA TIU — features@theaggie.org
Correction: In our printed issue on Sept. 25, the article corresponding with the headline “A surge in deportation efforts impacts communities” had the incorrect body text. The article has been adjusted on our digital version of the issue and reprinted for clarity. The Aggie thanks concerned readers who reached out with this error.
Under the second Trump administration, the United States has seen a substantial rise in deportation efforts. Through an increase in immigration enforcement budgets, expanded expedited removal, reduced immigrant protections, an influx of court rulings on immigration policy and more, the country has seen a higher amount of deportations and, subsequently, a much greater impact on affected communities.
“Unfortunately, these stories don’t stand out to me anymore; they have become so normalized within our community since I was a child,” a UC Davis student, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “However, I want to put into perspective that this happens every day — children having to learn a complicated system and having to understand that their parents are being taken away simply for trying to give their children a better life. How do you tell a five-year-old this? How are they able to comprehend that they may never see their mom or their dad again? This is happening every single day on a large scale; The separation of families is occurring everywhere.”
These mass deportation efforts have left many people, including UC Davis students, with great worries and emotional distress.
“As a first-generation Chicana student with a mixed-status family, every time I leave home to come study at UC Davis, I hug them as if this were to be my last hug with them,” the student said. “The uncertainty of whether or not I’m going to see my family again has become [normalized under] the current administration.”
Due to a recent Supreme Court decision, federal agents can now stop and question people based on race, language, location or type of work. For immigrant communities, the usage of these factors, despite being deemed unconstitutional by lower courts, adds yet another layer of stress and anxiety regarding their identities.
“We are creating a social system in which racial profiling is normative,” the student said. “This create[s] a slippery slope in which, as a society, we make labels and preconceived assumptions about what immigration is. As we have seen, many U.S. citizens have been profiled just because they are POC [people of color] or because they speak another language. This further demonstrates that our country has set whiteness as its prime example of what an American society should be.”
Another UC Davis student, who also wished to stay anonymous, highlighted the reality of this ruling for immigrant communities.
“This ruling reinforces racial profiling and discrimination,” the second student said. “It means immigrant communities are constantly being judged and targeted for […] how they look, what language they speak or where they work. Even though it was deemed unconstitutional before, the fact that it is still happening sends a message that immigrant rights are not being respected. It makes people feel like they don’t belong, even if they have been here for years or are here legally.”
As the first student outlined, these immigration enforcement tactics and practices have had significant effects on how immigrants, for fear of being targeted, feel the need to conceal their cultures and identity.
“Additionally, having to hide your identity has been something that has become more prominent,” the first student said. “I’ve heard more instances in which an undocumented migrant will stop speaking their native language [in order] to not get racially profiled, leading to forced assimilation and a loss of cultural identity.”
Regional, state and national media outlets have continuously covered the increase in mass deportation efforts and immigration enforcement. The first student described how the portrayal of immigrants on many media platforms, particularly during this time period, has worsened attitudes towards the community.
“The media has not accurately reported on the lived experiences of our immigrant communities,” the first student said. “The lack of humanization has created a rhetoric in which the vilification of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. has grown into vast, punitive and racially-biased systems with devastating fiscal, emotional and social costs.”
Another UC Davis student who preferred to stay anonymous described how the surge in deportations has heavily impacted the children in affected communities.
“The families that have been separated, the children who have lost their parents — the fear that children live in is the thing I feel the media has lacked in showing,” the third student said. “Our immigrant and undocumented community is made up of more than just adults, and I think that type of coverage is necessary. Showing the emotional impact and overall negative impact that is happening to children is essential to highlight what is happening to our community.”
The third student relayed how children of families concerned about immigration enforcement have stepped up to support their loved ones, despite the heavy toll the situation has taken on them as well.
“That fear has been instilled in us,” the third student said. “And with that also comes the example of children — the children who have stepped up for their parents. On social media, you see examples of children whose parents are in fear of deportations, immigration and ICE. They’ve stepped up to do groceries, to run errands. That is an example of how powerful family commitment is, and overall, how powerful our community is.”
Along with noting the serious impact on children and families, the third student also detailed how their hometown community has felt the effects of the mass deportation efforts.
“I live in the Bay Area, and I’ve seen a drastic shift in the way our Hispanic community has begun to socialize,” the third student said. “Centers that were full of Hispanic music, food and people constantly coming and going have seen an incredible shift in the number of people present at a time. It’s heartbreaking to see how places that brought them a sense of belonging, a sense of being back home, have been taken away from them because of fear.”
Though much of the conversation surrounding this administration’s increase in deportation efforts centers on regional or national updates, UC Davis students stress the importance of spotlighting the individual stories of emotional strain.
“Right now, we are thriving on prayers and hopes — that wherever we go to do an errand or to work, it isn’t our last day, it isn’t the day we lose everything we’ve worked for for years,” the third student said. “It’s that sense of uncertainty. It’s the sense of fear. It’s the sense of heartbreak, knowing that a country you’ve worked so much for, a country you’ve given up so much for, doesn’t appreciate that. And that is devastating.”
Written by: Graciela Tiu — features@theaggie.org
