Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
How California’s public colleges plan to protect immigrant students under a second Trump presidency
Students at East Los Angeles College, where Dream Resource Center staff help undocumented students navigate higher ed.
(
Brian Feinzimer
/
LAist
)
In California, about 87,000 undocumented students are pursuing higher ed. Increasingly, they do not qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which provides protection from deportation and a work permit.
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to “carry out the largest deportation operation in [U.S.] history.”
After the presidential election earlier this week, the leaders of California's public colleges and universities issued a joint statement of support for those students. California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian, CSU Chancellor Mildred García, and UC President Michael Drake said their institutions will “continue to support and protect all members of our communities.”
LAist reached out to California’s public higher ed institutions for specifics on how they will protect undocumented students.
Support for LAist comes from
Who are California’s undocumented students?
California’s 87,000 undocumented students make up less than one percent of those enrolled in the state’s public higher ed institutions, according to the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a group representing college and university leaders.
Undocumented students are a heterogeneous group, representing a range of races and countries of origin. The vast majority are undergraduates, but some are pursuing graduate and professional degrees. They are not eligible to work campus jobs, which means paying for college can be a struggle.
(
Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration
)
California Community Colleges
Melissa Villarin, a spokesperson for California’s Community Colleges, referred LAist to its website, which states: “Our colleges will not release personally identifiable student information related to immigration status unless required by judicial order.”
Many campuses, Villarin added, have created Dream Resource Centers and host “know your rights” clinics.
Support for LAist comes from
California State University
Amy Bentley-Smith, a spokesperson for CSU, said information about students’ migratory status is confidential. She also pointed to a resource page for students in the university system, along with an FAQ sheet that says campus police “will not contact, detain, question or arrest an individual solely on the basis of suspected undocumented immigration status” or undertake joint efforts with federal immigration enforcement authorities.
University of California
UC has not responded to requests for comment. However, UCLA’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy also issued a statement this week: "In addition to state and federal laws that protect students’ privacy, UC policy provides that the University 'will not release immigration status or related information in confidential student records ... without a judicial warrant, a subpoena, a court order, or as otherwise required by law.'”
The center also said that UC “has a strict policy that generally prevents campus police from undertaking joint efforts with federal immigration enforcement or detaining people at the federal government’s request."
On Tuesday, the Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles (CARECEN) — an immigrants’ rights nonprofit with legal offices in L.A., San Bernardino, and the San Fernando Valley — will host an online discussion for community college and CSU students, faculty, and staff. The conversation will include a debrief on the presidential election and what it can mean for immigrant communities.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist