President Donald Trump has repeated time and time again that if we want to remove drug dealers, gang members, and other dangerous criminals from the United States, mass deportations are the essential course of action. This makes me wonder: If this is all about deporting bad people, then why are there ICE agents on my college campus? In theory, wouldn’t colleges be the last place they would go to find people who are into pursuing a life of crime?
The obvious answer is that this was never about deporting “bad” people; it was about deporting whoever ICE could get its hands on. This is proven by the fact that over 70% of current detainees have no criminal convictions, children who are US citizens have been deported, and over 100 US citizens have been detained by ICE.Â
As a college student and a US citizen, I will speak for myself and say that the idea of my peers being taken off our campus and detained or deported does not make me feel safe; it makes me feel scared.Â
However, college students need to remember that they are not powerless in the face of injustices against their neighbors and friends, and that staying informed is critical. Protection from unwarranted search and seizure, the right to remain silent, and the right to a lawyer are all still protected under the US Constitution, even when dealing with ICE.Â