On Feb. 24, Latinx Student Union (LSU) hosted a peaceful gathering on the West Lawn, protesting President Trump’s immigration-related executive orders.
UCCS students voiced their support for immigrant communities on campus and spread awareness about the impact of the Trump Administration’s immigration orders.
Noemi Rives, LSU’s public relations officer, opened the event by thanking the community for attending and using their first amendment right to free speech.
“We’re all here because we have felt the devastating consequences of Trump’s presidency. Maybe you have lost a parent, a sibling or friend. Maybe you have felt the weight of Trump’s policies that have tried to silence us, exclude us and push us into the shadows … But I ask you to look around, feel the resilience of your community,” Rives said.
At the protest, students played music, danced, made speeches and chanted, “no peace on stolen land,” “fuck ICE” and “Trump, Trump, you can’t hide. You’re making families cry. You’re making children cry. You’re making parents cry.”
UCCS student Katrina Jenkins said the goal of the protest was education. “We are here to educate people what it means to execute mass immigrations, in a country where so much of our labor comes from not only undocumented people … but documented people who are historically swept up during mass deportations,” Jenkins said.
The Trump administration’s executive orders tasked ICE to increase detention and deportation by conducting nationwide raids, restricting migration to the U.S. and suspending access to humanitarian protection.
“The US cannot afford a mass deportation, especially the rate they are conducting them — a study done by the American Immigration Counsel, which takes [every step of the deportation process] into consideration, [said that] a one-time mass deportation would cost us at least $315 billion,” Rives said.
UCCS student Oscar Rose said that he feels obligated to use his first amendment right. “I’m Panamanian, and so are my parents. Both of my parents were illegal at one point in time, they have since become citizens, but I feel like it is my responsibility to be here and use my voice,” Rose said.
Immigration related executive orders signed on Jan. 20, 2025:
- Protecting the meaning and value of American citizenship: This order denies citizenship to children of two undocumented parents or one temporary citizen and one undocumented parent.
- Protecting the American people against invasion: This order calls for the detention of immigrants who arrived in America within the last two years until their cases are closed. It also denies federal funding to any previously declared sanctuary jurisdictions.
- Securing our borders: This order calls for the construction of a border wall between Mexico and the United States. It also restarts the Remain in Mexico program.
- Declaring national emergency at the southern border: This order is based on the National Emergencies Act, and calls for the Department of Defense to secure the US-Mexico border.
- Realigning the US refugee admissions program: This order puts a stop to the Refugee Admissions Program, the act allowing refugees escaping war to resettle in America.
- Guaranteeing the states protection against invasion: This order effectively closes all border entries, including to those seeking asylum.
- Protecting the US from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats: This order calls for the reviewal and enhancement of the vetting process for people seeking to enter the United States.
- There are also several executive actions related to immigration, according to the Center for Migration Studies.
Students can learn more about the executive orders and their impacts on Campus on the Scribe’s executive order page.