El Camino College is home to people from all walks of life that carry various backgrounds to form the diverse community we see today. Among this population, around 52% of students at ECC are Hispanic.
El Camino is considered a Hispanic-serving college, a safe space for this ethnic group to succeed. This is why it is disquieting to see a lack of any formal statement by the college regarding its stance on the controversial operations conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration.
ECC has provided other services to ensure the safety of its students, for example, the red cards or ‘know your rights cards,’ available to students via the Immigrant Legal Resource Center website.
Josefina Cruz Molina, a student success coordinator, has also provided resources to the student body regarding what steps should be taken in the event of ICE officers coming to campus.
While ECC has taken steps to provide students with the ability to educate themselves on their rights and other tools for maintaining a safe environment on campus for Immigrant students, students have not been reassured of their support.
I believe a full statement given to the public that ECC will stand with students who are targeted by ICE for their immigration status should be released to ensure security that students know that ECC stands with them and their rights indisputably.
It would go a very long way for the college with a large, Hispanic-majority population if it prioritized the rights of its students before anything else.
Many unethical deportations have ensued within the span of just a few months under the current administration. It was reported that mothers made the decision to have their children removed with them during their deportation to Honduras, according to Trump border czar Tom Homan.
With such risks, now is the time for American institutions to be clear on their stances about these issues that threaten students.
People, now more than ever, are losing their faith in institutions and their ability to protect their students’ rights.
This can be seen in UCLA’s response to the pro-Palestine demonstrations on campus that were met with expulsions — a lack of solidarity from the college’s administrations and a violent police response with no protection from the school itself.
ECC would benefit its relationship with its majority Hispanic student population by having a referenceable statement available on where it stands in regards to how it will act in the interest of its students, should ICE show up on campus.
The current resources available are steps that should be admired, but a more solid statement of intent goes a very long way in showing its students and the wider public where its priorities as an institution lie.
