Colorado universities caution students amid Trump deportations
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A rally at the Auraria Campus calling for the release of Mahmoud Khalil and Jeanette Vizguerra. Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez/Axios
Local universities are on high alert as President Trump's immigration crackdown expands its enforcement to target pro-Palestinian student activists.
The big picture: The Trump administration has cast pro-Palestinian protesters as Hamas supporters and used anti-terror and immigration laws to quiet campus demonstrations, Axios' Russell Contreras writes.
- Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk's recent arrest alarmed civil libertarians after she was apprehended by masked federal agents.
Why it matters: The Trump administration appears to be zeroing in on foreign students who express pro-Palestinian views, contending their arrests are meant to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
- These efforts are running concurrent with a spike in deportations carried out by an administration sending suspected gang members to a Central American megaprison.
Threat level: There are no reports of college students at Colorado universities who have been arrested or detained by federal law enforcement since the start of Trump's second term.
Yes, but: Recent arrests are prompting some students to avoid public demonstrations or overtly political speech.
Zoom in: At the Auraria Campus, 23-year-old Khalid Hamu, a senior at the University of Colorado Denver, told us last month his Palestinian classmates said they've avoided protests because of their immigration status.
- Hamu led a protest on campus in mid-March demanding immigrant rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra's release from ICE detention. He also participated in last year's pro-Palestinian Tivoli Quad occupation.
- "We're here to say that you will not be able to cut up the student body and attack us one by one," Hamu said last week.
State of play: Multiple local universities contacted by Axios Denver say they will continue backing their students' right to free speech.
- A spokesperson for the University of Colorado Denver said the school is encouraging students with immigration-related questions to reach out to the International Student and Scholar Services team.
- Metropolitan State University is advising students who have safety concerns to consult with MSU Denver's Immigrant Services Program for specific guidance, a spokesperson tells us.
- A spokesperson at the University of Denver said that historically, student activism and demonstrations have been "respectful," but didn't provide details about resources for students.
What they're saying: "[CU Boulder] is concerned about the well-being of all of our students, including our international and permanent resident students, particularly in light of recent events," a spokesperson at the university tells us.
- The state's largest university has a web page sharing alerts about visas, travel and other issues for international students.
Zoom out: Students and academics of color appear to be disproportionately facing arrests and threats of deportation, Samah Sisay, a Center for Constitutional Rights attorney, recently told the Guardian.
- The actions signal "a warning for students of color at these universities," Sisay added.
The bottom line: The recent arrests and lack of due process in other cases have some experts worried about the nation's trend toward fascism and authoritarianism under Trump, writes Axios' Russell Contreras and Steph Solis.