Santa Monica, and Santa Monica College, respond to Trump administration immigration policies
On Jan. 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as U.S. president for his second and final term. On the same day as the inauguration, the Superintendent and President of Santa Monica College (SMC), Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, released a statement titled “Response to Federal Immigration Enforcement.” The statement was a direct response to campaign promises made by Trump leading up to his election, such as the promise to deport 15 to 20 million people, which exceeds the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the country.
Since then, the Trump administration has signed many executive orders related to immigration. SMC has not made any additional public comments. However, orders such as the order to give state and local law enforcement the ability to perform the functions of immigration officers have created enough public unrest to spark an official response from the city of Santa Monica.
On Feb. 27, the city held an informational forum at the Thelma Terry Center, presented fully in Spanish with an English translation available via headset. The first half of the meeting included speakers such as Mayor Lana Negrete and Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) Chief Ramon Batista, who discussed the city's official position regarding the new executive actions.
The second half of the meeting was an informational presentation by immigration lawyers Marilyn Figueroa and Daliah Seterah on how to be prepared to encounter an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Figueroa and Setareh repeatedly mentioned the importance of the right to remain silent and the right against unreasonable search and seizure, which are tools of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, respectively, that undocumented immigrants can use to protect themselves when dealing with ICE agents.
City officials took the meeting as an opportunity to reaffirm the city's protective relationship with its undocumented community. “Under California state law and under our policy, we do not enforce federal immigration law,” said Batista, speaking with Corsair reporters.
When asked about his message to undocumented students, Batista said, “I think that it’s important that our immigrant students recognize that the school system in Santa Monica has taken steps to protect them as students, and that federal immigration actually, whether it’s federal immigration or local law enforcement, can’t just walk onto a school and take enforcement action on them. They have to go through the rules and regulations of that school.” This idea echoed Santa Monica’s official stance expressed throughout the meeting: it is not the city’s job to enforce immigration law.
Since Jeffery’s initial message on Jan. 20, the school has had no public message or reaction to the Trump administration's executive actions regarding undocumented immigrants and border security. The Corsair reached out to SMC Dream Resource Center Faculty Lead Dr. Marisol Moreno to comment on the impact that the new administration has had on the student body, but Moreno denied to comment. The Dream Resource Center offers services like workshops and legal services to undocumented students and students of mixed-status households.
The Corsair spoke to the Vice-Chair of the SMC Board of Trustees, Dr. Sion Roy, and asked him about what he predicts the next four years will look like for undocumented students. When asked specifically about possible action taken against financial aid given to undocumented students, Dr. Roy said, “I think there is uncertainty in that there hasn’t been any definitive action taken that has impacted SMC, but we are very worried that federal action will affect grants and things like that, which will, downstream, affect students, faculty and staff.”
According to Dr. Roy it is not simple to predict what things will look like under the Trump administration. “It's so hard to know what’s going to happen with this administration day-to-day, week-to-week. So we are living on the edge, kind of, here, but ready to protect our students and faculty,” said Dr. Roy.
So far SMC has not been directly affected by Trump's executive actions. “It hasn’t impacted any of our DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) related programs,” said Dr. Roy. “The ways they could attack us are legal and financial... as of yet, we have not seen that directly, per our college.” The following Monday after this interview took place, SMC was named on the list of 60 colleges that the federal government is investigating over claims of antisemitism.
Looking forward, one of the threats that Dr. Roy sees for SMC is the Trump administration's battle against the U.S. Department of Education. “Another threat coming up is that the federal government is going to try to end the Department of Education, because anything that affects K-12 also will affect us as well,” said Dr. Roy.
“Making your voice heard so that the state and the federal government will hear your voice, that these are our colleagues, these are our friends, these are our family members, and they deserve dignity,” said Dr. Roy, when asked what more the student body can do to better support each other. “When anybody makes their voices heard, I think that's really powerful, and that's something that is the center of what I think as a political body that we are hoping for in the next four years.”
While uncertainty may be the word being echoed through the minds of many right now, students are each other’s greatest allies, and together they can be catalysts for change.
For on-campus immigration resources, wellness counseling, crisis counseling, financial aid advice, and more, students may visit the SMC Dream Resource Center and the Student Equity Center.
This spring, the Dream Resource Center is hosting an UndocuAlly Training Program for allies. The first virtual webinar is on March 14 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. An asynchronous training module is available permanently.
For legal aid and additional immigration resources, consult the following organizations:
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles or call 800-399-8283
Immigrant Defenders Law Center or call 213-833-8283
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights or call 888-624-4752
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) produces pocket “red cards” that list the Fourth and Fifth Amendments and are designed to be presented to ICE agents before exercising those amendment rights. Paper versions of the cards are available in the Cayton Center.