On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed DHS Directive: Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas, overturning previous protections limiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in sensitive locations, including university campuses.
With this decision, areas once considered safe for undocumented students are now open to enforcement actions. Despite the risk this poses to students, Texas State has yet to take sufficient action.
As a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) since 2011, Texas State’s student body is approximately 40% Hispanic, with 42% of undergraduate students being first-generation college attendees, according to Texas State demographics. As a university that promotes diversity and student safety, Texas State must take a stronger stance to protect its students.
The new federal policy disproportionately impacts undocumented and first-generation students, many of whom already face significant obstacles in higher education. Now, students are experiencing heightened anxiety in a space that once felt secure.
On Feb. 7, Texas State reinforced immigration enforcement protocols for faculty and staff, emphasizing legal compliance and student privacy. Faculty and staff were instructed to report ICE inquiries to the university’s general counsel, refer immigration agents to UPD and only share student information if it complies with privacy laws, according to an email sent out by the university. However, these measures do not explicitly restrict ICE access to non-public areas.
While these protocols outline basic guidelines, they do not provide clear guidance on how students should handle direct encounters. Stronger protections are necessary to ensure students’ constitutional rights are upheld.
Other institutions across the state have already taken steps in protecting the rights of their students. Texas A&M issued notices instructing students on where ICE agents are allowed to legally enter and how to respond to immigration enforcement. The University of Houston is barring ICE agents from entering lecture rooms without a judge-signed warrant and offering legal counsel to students questioned by ICE.
Policies such as these ensure the rights of the student body remain while also lessening anxieties from broader immigration enforcement.
Recent ICE raids across the state have intensified fear amongst the general student body, particularly in undocumented students. ICE has conducted operations in nearby cities, including Austin and San Antonio. Without stronger actions from the university, these fears remain present.
In response, Texas State students have taken to protesting, demanding stronger protections for undocumented peers.Students are vocal in calling for non-cooperation policies, expanded legal resources and a firmer stance against ICE enforcement.
Dani Lazo Ojeda, an art history freshman and first-generation student from Venezuela under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a designation that grants temporary protection from deportation to individuals from countries facing conflict or disaster, said she feels uneasy as a student right now.
“I think enforcement feels very targeted, especially in Texas,” Ojeda said. “I don’t feel safe on campus. I never know what is going to happen or if the university will have my back. I wake up every day scared, questioning every step I take. It all comes down to one piece of plastic [visa] that protects my right to be here, but even that doesn’t feel assured.”
Ojeda emphasized the need for Texas State to step up and take more direct action.
“Give us the power to defend ourselves and our rights,” Ojeda said. “I want more direct action and a clear, official statement. Send an email, hold a workshop—just do something. The biggest issue is that we don’t know what to do or what is going on. Some of us have to seek out these resources when it would be so much easier if they were provided to us.”
Texas State is failing its undocumented students, exposing them to ICE enforcement and stripping away their sense of safety. For immigrants, this is not another federal order but a threat to their way of life.
Without real action, through restricting ICE access, providing legal aid and addressing student concerns, the university’s commitment to protecting students is just empty promises.
-Andrew Bencivengo is a business administration sophomore
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Angie • Feb 21, 2025 at 12:48 pm
Hi Andrew, thanks for speaking on this issue. I agree—TXST’s lack of communication on immigration-related issues is genuinely disappointing, especially considering that 40% of its student body is Hispanic. The fact that the university hasn’t offered any support or even a simple message of acknowledgment is frustrating. To my knowledge, the Monarch Center, which is supposed to offer support to immigrant students, hasn’t provided any legal counsel, workshops, or resources, and it’s unclear if they’re even active. If the university truly values its diverse student body, it needs to speak up, provide resources, and start addressing these issues directly.