It should come as no one’s surprise that college students live a very stressful life. Our lives are filled with heavy coursework, deadlines, exams, internships, and the constant pressure to be successful. According to the American Institute of Stress, 45% of American college students report experiencing “more than average stress.”
Now, imagine being a full-time college student while also having to help your parents understand the latest U.S. immigration policies under the Trump administration. Well, for me and many other children of immigrants, that has felt like a full-time job.
During his first month in office, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has deported approximately 37,660 people, with promises to deport 15-20 million people during his second term. Moreover, the Trump administration isn’t just interested in going after undocumented immigrants but also those with visas, permanent residents, and even naturalized citizens.
This has left many immigrants, like my parents, in a constant limbo of confusion and fear. It has left me, a college student, not only stressed about my class assignment deadlines but also stressed about my own parent’s well-being. Additionally, this has left many immigrants to fall victim to the misinformation being spread online through social media platforms.
Just recently, my mother showed me a TikTok video where a very obvious AI-generated video voiced that Permanent Residents are prohibited from traveling and those outside the U.S. cannot re-enter. My mother, who doesn’t have experience with AI, forwarded the video to my permanent resident aunt, out of caution. I soon had to explain to both my mother and aunt, that the content in the video is AI-generated and not true. This has become my everyday life.
The constant changes in immigration laws have left my family anxious and relying on me to ease their anxiety. But who do I turn to for relief?
The constant questions on my mind: Will my parents be deported? Will we need to move back to Ecuador? Will they see me graduate? Do I now need to carry my passport?
While in school, all I can think about is immigration. Instead of my usual Pinterest scroll during class, I find myself scrolling through the USCIS news website, seeing if any additional changes have been made. The ongoing stress has left me procrastinating every little task thrown at me. I can’t even complete an assigned reading without my mind going somewhere else within 10 seconds. I’ve had other friends, in situations similar to mine, express the same frustration.
I feel like this current struggle isn’t spoken about publicly, as most of us children of immigrants are always taught to keep our feelings to ourselves.
I feel like colleges and universities fail to provide sufficient support for students who are dealing with the stress attached to the complex immigration issues. But, for that to be possible, I feel like we, the children of immigrants, need to first share our own stories.
I hope by sharing my story, others will be motivated to share theirs.