Concerns grow as nationwide deportations persist

By Caroline Haviland

As the first nine months of President Donald Trump’s second term went by, the nation has seen immigration policies carried out that focus on an increase in deportations and funding for immigration enforcement, causing nationwide concern for both U.S citizens and those undocumented.  

Faculty, students weigh in

Upon being reelected for a second term in November 2024, Trump promised to initiate the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, according to NBC News, aimed at the more than 10 million unauthorized immigrants in the country. 

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a data gathering, research and distribution organization founded at Syracuse University, reported 470,213 court issued removal and voluntary departure orders in 54.9% of completed immigration court cases in the current fiscal year, according to the most recent data available from August 2025. 

Department of Government, Politics and Law Professor Barbara Franz said the real number may be much higher, however, as many deportees were removed without due legal process and placed on airplanes, inciting anxiety among those watching the government’s actions unfold. 

“There’s no question that the immigrant community, some residents who have green cards or even people with minority backgrounds are scared,” Franz said. “There’s no question about this. … It’s a bad time to just be an immigrant.”  

TRAC reported the top nationality ordered deported in the current fiscal year as immigrants from Mexico, followed by Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela and Colombia.  

A student source, who wished to remain anonymous due to safety reasons, spoke of their concern due to their parents’ illegal immigration to the United States from Mexico in the early 2000s. In an interview with The Rider News, they said that their fear has grown as more time passes in the Trump administration. 

“I’m even more worried now and I think my parents are too,” the student said, who is a U.S citizen. “They’re going to try to remain as optimistic as they can, but the fear is always going to be in the back of my head.”

The source shared an instance where the reality of nationwide deportations also found a way into their internship where they presented ideas on how to get more Hispanic students involved in career fields through large-scale events. 

The source said their idea was rejected due to safety concerns of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement possibly hearing of a gathering of Hispanic students in a single space.

“I was like, wow, people are refusing to just do something like that because they don’t want to put people in danger out of safety concerns because you never know the situation,” the source said.

While many remain cautious due to their legal status in the U.S., Franz urged American citizens to take a stand with those most vulnerable. 

“If you’re an American citizen don’t feel helpless. Pick an issue and make a stand,” Franz said. “The one thing that will stop this president is a massive wall of people who say no.” 

Franz mentioned at least once a week she visits Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, to give people standing in line for a long time clothes, food or water, showing her support for an overlooked group of people. 

“That’s what we should do as Americans,” she said. 

University impacts 

As of Oct. 6, Rider has not reported any instances of ICE spotted on campus, but Director of Public Safety Matthew Babcock said in an interview with The Rider News that there is still a protocol set in place should this happen. 

He said, “More or less we would be the intermediary between any kind of federal law enforcement agency that comes on campus, the students and the administration on campus.”

Babcock continued by urging students to report any campus sighting of ICE or federal agents to Public Safety immediately. 

Rider’s international students also remain unaffected by Trump’s recent immigration policies, according to Director of the Office of International Education Kimberly Algeo, who said in an email to The Rider News on Sept. 21 that current international students have not faced problems with visa revocation. 

However, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, reported at least 12 undergraduate and graduate students’ visa status were changed by federal authorities, according to a statement made by the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors and American Federation of Teachers on April 9. 

Five of these students filed a lawsuit against the federal government, resulting in a judge ruling on May 8 that federal immigration officials acted unlawfully. 

With Trump’s policies impacting a range of American constituents, Franz recommended all immigrants to know their rights, what the government can and cannot do, and for undocumented people to speak with a lawyer or the people at their local immigration center.  

“I can’t tell an immigrant to not be afraid. They should stand with us, but first we need to stand up,” Franz said. “We, as American citizens, need to lead.”