As I made my way to Dye Lecture Hall on Wednesday, I was stressed. It was 4:58 p.m., and the semesterly Undocu-Ally training hosted by Obies for Undocumented Inclusion was starting at 5 p.m. Already planning on where I could sit if all the seats were filled, I walked into Dye Lecture Hall to see less than half of the seats occupied. Shocked, I took my seat, ready for the next hour of well-researched, accessible, and important information on many topics ranging from debunking harmful stereotypes about immigrants to the necessary procedures if Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents were to come to campus.
Standing in line for the post-training meal of carne guisada, arroz, and frijoles from Rainbow Bakery in Lorain, I felt angry. For a campus as politically involved as Oberlin, I was thoroughly disappointed to see how few of my peers, professors, and friends attended this training. I’d assumed that the training, which is normally quite well-attended, would be packed given the current political context and events happening in the United States. But, sadly, only 74 people came, and many of them were people that have already attended the training before, and/or have been involved with OUI in the past.
Part of my anger stems from how important this semester’s Undocu-Ally training feels right now. We are currently situated in the onslaught of terror that U.S. President Donald Trump is unleashing upon immigrants and people of color all across the country. Since the start of his term in January 2025, Trump has fulfilled his promise of intense anti-immigrant policy. He has invoked the Alien Enemies Act in order to deport Venezuelan asylum seekers, promised to revoke birthright citizenship, fully blocked the processing of asylum seekers at the southern border, and reversed the guideline that allows undocumented people to seek medical help, attend places of worship, and receive their education without fear of deportation. And, through all of this, he has expanded ICE’s power, jurisdiction, and numbers to arrest over 32,809 people within the past three months.
Despite common misconceptions, Trump’s policies and assault do not just target undocumented immigrants, but also people who are in the U.S. with documentation. Just a few weeks ago, Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested in an ICE raid in his own home, despite his permanent resident status. The courts recently ruled that he can be deported from the U.S. Around the same time, a Brown University professor was deported to Lebanon, despite having a valid visa to be in the U.S. It is not that anyone is more or less “worthy” of being deported based on their legal status, but rather proves how devastating and wide-reaching these policies are to our community.
Some people at Oberlin may see these deportations and acts by President Trump and ICE as distant events that would never affect them or the people they love. But I can guarantee that every person at this school sits in class, their co-op, or their club with someone who is directly affected by these policies. You may even be friends with someone who is directly affected by this and just not know it, as coming out with undocumented status is notoriously emotionally challenging.
And, for those who think that these acts will never affect our town directly, ICE has already infiltrated our community, with a mass raid happening at Cilantro Taqueria in Cleveland Heights just this past January. These events are not distant, in fact they are impacting our community directly and imminently.
So, I ask the Oberlin community to show up for our immigrant and international peers. In times like these, our power is in coming together as a community. This can look like donating to El Centro — a community based organization that works to support the Latinx community in Lorain — attending OUI events, financially supporting their OUI fund,which directly supports undocumented students at Oberlin, pushing our administration to follow OUI’s demands, and knowing and disseminating the procedure for ICE on campus, which is as follows: If you come across ICE, call the Office of the Vice President at 440-775-8444, and direct the officers to the General Counsel’s Office: Office of the Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, Cox Administration Building, Room 200, 70 North Professor St.
Our campus should be a place where undocumented, international, and immigrant students, or those with loved ones of those statuses, feel supported and safe. But, the only way for this to happen is through action. I hope that everyone who reads this makes a change, so the next time OUI holds their Undocu-Ally training, every seat is filled.
