Since President Trump’s recent inauguration and his 10 subsequent immigration executive actions, an increased level of fear is spreading among members of the Latine community.
“Everything’s really tense right now, and everyone’s pretty scared,” sophomore and Latine Student Union (LSU) member Mica Wolf said. “It can be hard not to turn everything into a joke to cope with it, but it’s also hard because it’s a sensitive topic that’s hurting so many families.”
Prior to the policies, the LSU affinity group often met to celebrate holidays and traditions and talk about shared experiences. However, recent meetings have shifted to mainly conversations regarding immigration.
One of the LSU advisers is in frequent contact with a friend in their hometown who is undocumented and at risk of deportation. The adviser wants their opinions and views to remain anonymous because faculty members at the school have been instructed to remain non-political.
“It just makes me really nervous for the people that I love,” the adviser said. “These policies are having the intended effect of spreading fear, and that is happening.”
According to the New York Times, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have increased since Trump came back into office. According to the adviser, sightings have occurred in a mall where family members shop, according to the adviser.
“They’re making snap judgments in order to decide who to question,” the adviser said. “They’re looking at you and asking you questions and checking your accent. It makes me sad.”
While there have been deportations in the United States since the late 19th century, the new administration has threatened public raids.
“I think the shock and awe factor is what’s getting people’s attention,” the adviser said. “The absolute numbers aren’t as important as the methods, which are public raids, right in the public sphere, where people can see, and that’s kind of the difference between these administrations.”
Wolf, a US citizen, urges the rest of the UPrep community to appreciate their stable citizenship as she does hers because she knows people under threat.
“They should be grateful that you don’t have to have this fear hanging over you because it really does divide so many people and families, and it’s really sad,” Wolf said.
While there is not much UPrep’s administration can help with, the adviser is frustrated that they have not released a message to the community about the unfolding political situation. The Seattle and Highline School Districts have released statements barring immigration authorities from doing enforcement work on school campuses to protect their students.
“The biggest concern is the fact that the school has remained silent,” the adviser said. “Public schools are sending out statements, and so there’s just a general uneasiness that the school has chosen to not say anything.”
According to the adviser, the statement does not have to be complicated.
“Simply to reaffirm our values, which is that we value diversity here, and we value the privacy of our students, and we affirm gender diversity, racial diversity, DEI and all those things that the current administration is attacking,” the adviser said. “I think everyone would feel better if the school said something.”
However, because UPrep is a 501(c)(3), the law states non-profit organizations cannot release anything pertaining to politics or the support of or in opposition to any party, campaign or legislation. According to Head of School Ronnie Codrington-Cazeau, such a message would fall under that forbidden category.
Wolf finds most of her information on the matter from the news and is following it closely as the issue is relevant to her and her community.
“It’s hard to see your friends who are supposed to be living out their childhood and not supposed to be living with so much darkness in their lives have to live with something over their head every day because, the fear, the pain, is so unimaginable,” Wolf said.
