While most students were out buying last-minute flowers and CVS chocolates for their Valentines last week, international students at Emerson were making copies of their legal documents to avoid deportation. One moment, we were regular American college students, and the next, we were scrambling to feel secure on campus.
On Feb. 13, Emerson’s Office of International Student Affairs (OISA) emailed all international students “recommending” that we carry proof of lawful status at all times, given the Trump administration’s recent statements about border security. At Emerson, international students make up 16% of the incoming population each academic year, a more-than-substantial portion of the student body who do not deserve to become targets.
To legally attend college in the United States as non-citizens, we must undergo a lengthy process to acquire documents allowing us to be here. Upon acceptance to an institution, such as Emerson, students receive an I-20 form which becomes the pathway to acquire an F-1 visa within our foreign passports, allowing us to enter the country each semester.
Since these documents are our only way to study in the States, they prove to be extremely valuable, making the thought of having to carry them around every day somewhat unnerving. But due to the quickly changing nature of immigration legislation, OISA believes there is enough of a threat to advise extreme precautions.
And it’s true, the threat exists. Northeastern University’s student newspaper recently reported the presence of ICE agents on campus, interacting with members of the surrounding area. Although no one was detained, their visit sends a clear message: “we’re watching.”
We didn’t think any of this would apply to international students. Due to the fact that we went through the process of acquiring our visas and forms in the first place, we maintain a legal status in the U.S. Everyone assured us that when President Donald Trump’s hunt for undocumented immigrants begins, he wouldn’t be looking for us as well. Though, in light of the college’s warnings and the events that transpired at Northeastern, we aren’t so sure anymore.
Does Trump want international students gone? He claims to only target undocumented immigrants, but one of his campaign’s favorite targets throughout the 2024 election cycle was Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, who are here lawfully.
This unpredictability is what makes us nervous. We want to be able to complete our degrees at Emerson. We came here for education, for opportunities that we aren’t afforded in our home countries. Emerson loves to advertise how passionate its students are, but it’s hard to prioritize our passions when we are worried about our residency statuses every day.
Though Emerson President Jay Bernhardt has stated that the college will offer “ongoing support to our international students” in the face of “changing policies and pressures,” our fears linger. “Ongoing support” and other platitudes don’t make us feel any more secure on campus.
Performing monologues in class and handing in article drafts just doesn’t feel the same when we feel the weight of our passports and visas like lead in our backpacks. Carrying our documentation around feels like a constant reminder of our otherness, of the barriers we face that other students don’t.
Because in the same way that these documents allow us to enter this country, our passports are also what allow us to enter our home countries of New Zealand and Bolivia. If at any point, the U.S. becomes a danger to us and we are forced to leave, our passports are our safeguard. If we lose them or have them taken away, we are stranded in a country that doesn’t seem to want us.
We are worried. We feel like every move counts because every decision we make and every word we say could hurt our ability to stay here if it came to that. Even this article is a terrifying paper trail of our dissatisfaction with the current government that makes us vulnerable to it, especially when the only things grounding us to American soil are a couple pieces of paper.