UCI administrators, faculty, staff and students face uncertainty regarding the impact of President Donald Trump’s series of executive orders on Jan. 20. Several of these executive orders rescinded support for minority-serving institutions and undocumented immigrants.
In response, the Associated Students of UCI (ASUCI) passed legislation endorsing California Senate Bill 98on Jan. 30. Several student organizations hosted information sessions to support undocumented students. Administrators and faculty continue to stay up-to-date on how executive orders may impact UCI programs.
Trump’s executive orders declared a “national emergency at the southern border,” suspended entry of all migrants, including asylum seekers, and designated immigration enforcement as a primary mission of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations division.
Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman rescinded guidelines under former President Joe Biden that prevented ICE and Customs and Border Protection enforcement actions in “sensitive” areas. These sensitive areas include schools, medical facilities and places of worship.
In response, the University of California (UC) reaffirmed its support for undocumented students by releasing a statement of principles on Jan. 22. Undocumented students make up around 4,000 across all UC campuses.
“The University is committed to creating an environment in which all admitted students can successfully matriculate and graduate,” the statement reads. “We will not release immigration status or related information in confidential student records, without permission from a student to federal agencies or other parties without a judicial warrant, a subpoena, a court order or as otherwise required by law.”
According to a Frequently Asked Questions post on the UC website, UC Police Departments will not work with federal immigration officers to apprehend and remove individuals from campus.
At UCI, faculty, staff and students have organized various initiatives and shared resources to support undocumented students. The UCI DREAM Center created a live resource folder that “may be updated periodically to reflect changes in executive orders or policies,” as shared on its website. The UC Immigrant Legal Services Center holds weekly office hours to provide free immigration-related legal assistance.
ASUCI External Vice President (EVP) Kylie Jones and At-Large Senator Alondra Arevalo co-authored legislation R60-72, in collaboration with the 2024-2025 executive boards of the American Indian Student Association and Students Advocating for Immigrant Rights and Equity (SAFIRE) at UCI. R60-72 authorizes ASUCI to make a statement endorsing SB 98. California State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez introduced SB 98, also known as the Sending Alerts to Families in Education Act, to “expand school alert systems to warn of immigration enforcement raids.”
“A lot of what we, our office, tries to do is just kind of help support students by empowering them and giving them self advocacy and giving them the tools they need to advocate for the communities that they belong to or they are passionate about,” Jones told New University.
R60-72 urges the UC Office of the President, UC Regents, all UC campuses and the Associated Students of other UC campuses to support SB 98. The legislation asks administrators to prioritize the protection of undocumented students and urges UCI “to establish itself as a sanctuary campus.”
The ASUCI EVP Office plans to establish a Latine Lobby Day and an in-district and virtual Undocumented Students Lobby Day for students. They also plan to collaborate with the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center with a “Know Your Rights” event to advocate for initiatives that support their communities.
Student organizations hosted events with resources in response to increased immigration enforcement in Southern California. SAFIRE at UCI, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán at UCI and the Black Student Union at UCI organized a “Know Your Rights” presentation featuring UC Immigrant Legal Services Staff Attorney Elda Rosales on Jan. 23. The Students for Socialism at UCI collaborated with the Orange County Rapid Response Network on a training session to document and respond to ICE on Feb. 2.
Trump’s “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” rescinded Executive Order 14045signed by Biden in 2021. Executive Order 14045 established a White House initiative and presidential advisory commission to “advance educational equity, excellence, and economic opportunity,” focusing on Hispanic communities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
UCI gained the HSI federal designation in 2017, allowing faculty, staff and students access to grants, internships and scholarships. According to a 2017 press release, the HSI designation increases “UCI’s eligibility for funding and grants from the departments of Education, Agriculture and Housing & Urban Development that can be used for a variety of purposes: to boost financial aid and other student services, to purchase scientific and laboratory equipment, for faculty development and to improve classrooms.”
“UC Irvine takes great pride in the diversity of our campus community, including our status as a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution,” UCI Assistant Vice Chancellor of Communications and Media Relations Michael Uhlenkamp said in an email to New University on Jan. 29. “While recently announced changes to existing federal policies have caused uncertainty, university leadership is taking this time to review policy changes to better determine any potential impacts to students or programs.”
In response to Trump’s executive order rescinding support for HSIs, Professor and Chair of UCI’s Department of Chicano/Latino Studies Belinda Campos said professors and students are “concerned” and the action “will be a loss to UC as a whole.”
“In the department of Chicano/Latino Studies, we will continue to offer our classes and programs,” Campos wrote in an email to New University on Jan. 31. “If necessary, we will find other ways to fund our important research work and student-dedicated programs.”
Campos also discussed the likely impact on faculty research grants. Programs funded by the California state government, such as the PRIME Pre-Health Pathways program and Building Binational Bridges program, should not need to be scaled back.
“We are always ready to support students, listen to students, direct to needed resources and provide them if they are not otherwise available; that has not changed with the new administration and will not change,” Campos wrote.
Camelia Heins is a News Intern for the winter 2025 quarter. She can be reached at cheins@uci.edu.
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