The first week of a new semester at Columbia carries the usual excitement of meeting classmates, settling into dorms and imagining what the year might bring. But for some students, that optimism is tempered by worry about family members who could be targeted by federal agents.
The Trump administration has slated a six-week federal crackdown in Chicago, with hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security expected to deploy, using the Naval Station Great Lakes outside of the city as a logistical hub. Latino neighborhoods, already bracing for disruptions and heightened anxiety, have seen community events such as the El Grito Mexican Independence Day festival postponed.
“There’s this anxious feeling following me around,” said Rachell Juarez, a first-year technical theater major with a concentration in management. “I have that worried feeling about my parents and family, specifically my parents and my sister who immigrated here.”
It’s a reminder that the stressors tied to immigration enforcement are not abstract for many students at Columbia.
Juarez was at the first meeting of the Latino Alliance student group this week, where students tried to set aside some of the anxiety and build connections.
The group meets regularly on the fourth floor of the 618 S. Michigan Ave building.
“Regardless of what’s going on outside, we’re going to be keeping that space open,” said Adilene Vega, co-president of the Latino Alliance and a senior art history major with a minor in Latin American studies.
At Columbia, 27.6 percent of students identified as Hispanic in 2024, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
Nationally, at least 5.3 million students from immigrant families attended U.S. colleges and universities in 2021, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Migration Policy Institute.
For their first meeting, the group hosted “La Vision Board Night” on Wednesday, Sept. 3, inviting students to map out goals for 2025 while meeting peers in a colorful multimedia room decorated with murals and art pieces that stress community and resistance.
“I think it was just really important to have a welcome-back-to-school space, and I’m happy that Latino Alliance could be a part of that,” said Vega.
Stefanie Valle, the other co-president of the group and a senior fine arts and illustration major, also took the opportunity to emphasize the resources on campus available to first-year students.
“If they don’t know about their resources or anything about Columbia or the Latino community, I just wanted to introduce them and let them all know they have a welcoming space here,” she told the Chronicle.
Vega said Latino Alliance creates a space for students to “decompress” and offers a community for new students.
“There’s a space for them outside of their home or wherever their family is,” Vega said. “We’re looking out for each other.”
Oshun Cortez, the Student Organization Council representative for Latino Alliance, was in a similar position to many other first year students when he initially joined the club.
“I was really scared because I used to be in a pretty small town where not a lot of hispanics were around,” said Cortez, who is now a sophomore film and television major. When he went to the Latino Alliance meeting for the first time, he finally got out of his shell.
Cortez said he hopes his peers will have a similar uplifting experience.
“We try our best to bring everyone together and have them feel safe,” said Cortez. “I really want them to come back and feel hope within themselves and their community around them.”
Juarez, who is from Colorado, said getting to know Chicago has also helped her feel comfortable.
“I think the fact that Chicago is very anti-everything that’s going on right now makes me feel better,” she said.
Vega said she wants students to see the group as a place where students can connect through not only their backgrounds but also their shared interests in school, “which can seem like small stuff, but it’s also like building that conversation, getting to know them as people and learning their histories.”
The space is available to everyone on campus, she added.
“I think unity within the community is very important, but also for people outside understanding that we see the value in each other,” Vega said.
Copy edited by Manuel Nocera
