Undocumented college students in Texas are kicking off summer vacation by protesting the new State Bill 4 (SB4), which bans sanctuary cities in the state, USA Today College reports. The law calls for police officers now having permission to question residents about their immigration status and is scheduled to take effect in September. The law’s passing directly affects college students because even campus police must follow its orders and answer to any federal immigration agents conducting investigations.
Carrying out what they call “the Summer of Resistance,” students have organized protests against the bill because they believe it promotes racial profiling. Protestor Vanessa Rodriguez, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, told USA Today, “It was very important for us to make a voice available to our community saying that, “I am undocumented, I am afraid, this bill is racist, but we will not give up, and we need numbers, we need commitment and we need unity to fight this.”
As of now, it’s uncertain how Texas universities will handle the bill’s impact, particularly once the new school year begins. Although SB4’s original intention was to gather undocumented people with a criminal history, some say that it has caused fear among communities of undocumented families. While SB4 calls for asking people for documentation only if they’re stopped for traffic violations, undocumented student Belman Guerrero says that earlier attitudes towards undocumented immigrants in Texas have made hundreds afraid of SB4’s power.
“It’s really been this fear in communities where some people are even thinking of leaving the state and trying to find somewhere else they can live,” Guerrero said, “because of this law that now basically gives the police the right to stop anyone that looks like an immigrant—or at least their belief of what an immigrant looks like—and asking for their documents.”
Because so many college students are safe from deportation under the laws of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, they have become the strongest voices in these fights against SB4. They plan to spend the summer spreading awareness of SB4 and helping other undocumented students learn about their rights.