California undocumented students grapple with Trump's re-election: 'I feel hopeless'

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Fear and panic spread across a room of Sacramento State students earlier this month as they tried to process the re-election of Donald Trump.

The group, mostly undocumented and ranging from 18 to 23, gathered in the university’s Dreamer Resource Center, a haven established in 2015 to support students like them. In the small, quiet space, they spoke of their growing anxieties.

One student, a junior majoring in public health administration, told the group she struggled to focus in her classes. Another student, a sophomore majoring in fashion, said he couldn’t shake the feeling of numbness.

“I feel hopeless,” said Francis, an undocumented 20-year-old who asked The Sacramento Bee not to use her last name due to her status. “I don’t know what to do. Should I focus on my finals? Should I focus on helping my family? Should I focus on what’s going to happen in the coming months?”

The fear rippling through undocumented communities has only intensified since Trump’s victory. The former president campaigned on the promise of mass deportations, and on Monday confirmed he plans to use the U.S. military to assist in immigration enforcement.

Now, leaders, immigrant rights organizations and universities across California are mobilizing and stepping up their resources to protect undocumented residents from potential Trump policies. It’s crucial to “prepare for the worst and work for the best,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, the state’s largest immigrant rights organization.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for lawmakers to return to the Capitol for a December special session to protect “California values,” including protections for immigrant families. Attorney General Rob Bonta has promised similar assurances. The state was considered a leader in battling extreme policies from the first Trump presidency, filing more than 100 lawsuits against the administration.

“We’ve been through this before, and we survived it,” Salas said. “But at the same time, we want to be even more prepared.”

In the Sacramento region, university employees reported an increase in the use of undocumented campus resources since the presidential election. These services, while existing for years, will likely rise in importance as they offer legal representation, inform immigrant youth about their rights and offer a sense of belonging.

“(Students are) looking for places in which they can be united in community with people that understand their circumstances,” said Daniela De La Cruz Telles, associate director of UC Davis’ Undocumented Student Resource Center.

Together, UC Davis and Sacramento State have close to 1,000 undocumented students enrolled in the schools. The estimates are based on students eligible for the California Dream Act — a law extending financial aid eligibility to noncitizens.

Roughly 87,000 undocumented students are enrolled in higher education across California.

Over the past two weeks, CHIRLA has fielded requests from colleges to host “know your rights” workshops. These sessions often mirror potential scenarios with immigration authorities. They are crucial to understanding the California protections already in place, Salas said.

Among those protections is 2017’s Senate Bill 54, which restricted state and local law enforcement from using their resources to aid federal authorities in immigration enforcement.

“If you don’t know the law, you’re not going to know how to exercise that protection on your behalf,” Salas said.

Sacramento State’s Dream Resource Center has partnered with CHIRLA for many years, said program coordinator Kimberly Gomez. Last year alone, Gomez said, students received 220 consultations from CHIRLA attorneys — the most for a higher education institution in Northern California.

“The need is here in Sacramento,” Gomez said.

Gomez said the center plans to continue holding weekly support group sessions to ensure students feel safe within the university community.

“Community is what is going to be there for you,” Gomez said.

That sense of community is already on display.

Thomas Resendez, a history major in his third year, sat alongside undocumented students in the Dreamer Resource Center earlier this month. While a U.S. citizen, he is part of a mixed-status family.

Resendez recalled crying the day after the election, worrying about the potential impact on his undocumented mother. But now, his focus has shifted to action. He is committed to volunteering to register voters and supporting his undocumented friends in the coming months.

“I’m not going to cry for that man again,” Resendez said. “I’m done giving them my tears.”