On April 17, dozens of protests erupted at universities across the country as communities came together for National Day of Action for Higher Education.
One of the common themes across the demonstrations was immigration and the mutual fear among undocumented students, given the rise in student visa revocations.
“There’s a lot of fear on campus,” said Advocacy Director of Aspiring Educators and Student Affairs Professionals Fabian Molina. “People are scared, there’s a lot of unknown.”
Across the 23 California State University (CSU) system schools, approximately 70 students have had their visas revoked. This is a 22-person increase in just one week, because on April 10, the CSU chancellor shared that the number was 48, according to Fresno State Director of Strategic Communications Esra Hashem.
As of April 10, approximately 90 students have had their visas taken in the University of California (UC) system. At UC San Diego alone, 35 student visas have been revoked as of April 17, CBS 8 reported. The number is 23 at UC Davis, according to ABC 10.
With nearly 1,500 student visas revoked on the national scale, protesters rallied, marched and chanted, fighting for their higher education rights, the current budget cuts and safety concerns.
Cal students fear for their free speech rights
UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza filled with hundreds of students, faculty and staff, all banding together to take a stance against what many called constitutional violations.
“As a student, as an American, my First Amendment and my right to speak out and learn and grow intellectually, that’s all under attack,” said UC Berkeley student River Richart. “My right to a fair trial and due process is also under attack.”
Richart referred to the case of Kilmar Ábrego García, an undocumented man that was sent to the Center for Terrorism Confinement (Cecot) prison in El Salvador after being suspected of having connections to the MS-13 gang.
While his gang affiliations have yet to be proven or disproven, the Trump administration has called Ábrego García’s deportation an administrative error. Over a month after the incident, he remains imprisoned.
Despite President Donald Trump’s promises to bring Ábrego García back, the incident has caused fear and drawn criticism from many community members who don’t want to receive the same treatment.
“I think we’re on the inflection point where we either survive as a democratic society or we do not,” said UC Berkeley lecturer David Skolnick. “I really believe we are on the precipice and that if we do not actually unify and get together and fight, our [political] system will fall.”
Molina said the threats to universities have been chilling.
“This doesn’t just affect certain students; this affects all students,” Molina said. “The Trump administration has been threatening students; they’ve been threatening schools to be in line with their agenda and if that doesn’t happen, you risk your education.”
With Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) being allowed access to public schools in an executive order on Jan. 20, many feel the walls are closing in.
At UC Berkeley, 23 students have had their visas revoked as of April 10, according to The Daily Californian.
Four Chinese international students at UC Berkeley are currently suing the Trump administration for terminating their visas without proper notification and reasoning. A judge has temporarily blocked the termination of their visas, with a court hearing set for April 24.
Faculty said they’ve been able to feel the unease settling throughout their school.
“There’s a lot of fear, especially for people who are not citizens,” said UC Berkeley Chair of Women Gender Studies Leslie Salzinger. “I have many students and colleagues who are not citizens. They obviously are being much more careful and in that sense it infringes on the freedom of speech of all us.”
Despite rising concerns, Salzinger doubled-down on her commitment to her students.
“We wanted to make sure our campus really stands firm and doesn’t bargain away our ability to do the work that we need to do, which is to be a center of knowledge,” Salzinger said.
Across the bridge
At San Francisco State University (SFSU), approximately 150 students, staff and faculty gathered at the campus quad for a teach-in protest and rally.
Then, the protesters packed into the Muni, one of San Francisco’s public transportation systems, and brought the action to city hall. There, they chanted, marched and hosted four speakers who energized the crowd in the name of taking action.
At the quad, two students were watching the protest from afar.
When The Collegian attempted to film them, they frantically covered their faces and motioned for the camera to move away.
Through an interview with The Collegian, the students revealed that they were from Scandinavia, attending SFSU with a visa, but they requested to remain anonymous because of their current immigration status.
One of the students is a junior at SFSU.
“I feel like if my political views are connected to me, that will get me deported or get my visa revoked,” one of the students said.
The Collegian asked if they felt unsafe at the protest.
“Not here, not now,” the student said. “I feel like the campus is kind of my safe space, but for later on when people are rallying up to go to the civic center, I won’t participate in that because that’s a way more unsafe space.”
Their friend, a senior, was wearing a mask to protect their identity. They expressed the same concern.
“People are disappearing and we read how, already, four students from this campus have gotten their visas revoked, and it’s even more at other universities,” the other student said.
According to the Golden Gate Xpress, SFSU’s student publication, five students have had their visas terminated, including one current student and four alumni.
Other schools like San Jose State University have confirmed 11 student visas revoked. At CSU Fullerton, there were nine unannounced revocations, according to KTLA.
At California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), six students have had their visas revoked, and federal agents have entered campus twice, according to The Long Beach Current, CSULB’s student newspaper. Approximately 100 students at CSULB joined the rallies for the National Day of Action for Higher Education.
Their fear is accompanied by anger, too.
“I’m getting furious how our freedom of speech is getting taken from us and I feel like it’s important to fight for that… It’s so surreal,” the other student said.
A second-year music student at SFSU, Amanda Ching, shared their distress in daily life. Ching is an international student from China who immigrated to the U.S. over 17 years ago.
“I fear for my rights as an immigrant and an LGBTQ+ community person,” Ching said. “We [their family] fear losing our home and we fear being forced to leave the country.
Many faculty and staff assured that they were in it for the long haul, and with the Trump administration showing no signs of deviating from their path, both sides appear prepared to weather the storm.
