Vol. 129 NO. 4
February 06, 2025
By the students, for the students
THERE’S A BLANKET “CALIFORNIA OF FEAR, AND YOU
Grass Roots: Perkins closes its doors, reopens as The GrassRoots Grill
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CAN FEEL IT ANYTIME YOU GO OUTSIDE
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Graduation: ESC Graduation opens to students, continuing tradition
CWU STUDENTS REACT TO TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN ON IMMIGRATION
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Women’s Basketball: Sunny Huerta breaks all time scorer record
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Photo design by Lizeth Valdes.
Jackson Roberts & Brandon Mattesich Co-Editors-In Chief “For their legal protection, as well as due to the sensitive nature of the story, all students who volunteered their personal experiences have requested and been granted anonymity. Because of this, all student attributions will use a number in place of their name, and majors will not be disclosed. The Observer places a high value on its sources’ safety, and has made this decision in line with The Observer’s ethical code and in respect to source security.”
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n the two weeks since Donald Trump was sworn in as president, he has passed executive orders banning birthright citizenship, ramping up immigration raids across the country and sponsoring the deconstruction of any Biden era immigration policy. The effects of his changes have been widespread, and many CWU students have expressed fear and uncertainty for their future. ICE Raids A major part of Trump’s recent campaign involved ramping up Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the country. On the ICE official website, they state their mission, “is to protect the homeland through
the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws.” However, protests have arisen nationwide due to the recent increase in raids that have taken place, with many claiming the raids tactics are inhumane and unethical. CWU Student 1, a first-generation American, talked about how their family has been affected by the raids. “The raids have been something that I’ve seen my entire life,” Student 1 said. “I’m thankful that my parents were able to secure their things [get citizenship] as they were able to within the last few years. So some of the fear has died down, but I do have a lot
of family members that I’m constantly scared for, just because they have to work 100 times harder than the standard person that is a citizen. And they’re out in the street, and I have a lot of fear that they could get profiled, and they could get harassed, and things can escalate.” “I’m worried they could be put in a detention center,” Student 1 continued. “Detention centers are known to be really, really inhumane. I have family members that have had to go through detention centers, and the stories make me feel unreal. I’ve had family members that were kicked to the ground like dogs, little kids too. It’s just an overall unreal feeling.” Even if the ICE raids don’t affect someone personally, the effects of having them in a community can be extreme. Student 2, who was born in the US, shared their experiences surrounding the raids and the
burdens the raids have placed on them. “I’ve seen it personally, how it’s been affecting people,” Student 2 said. “I’m close with this family, who are all undocumented, except one of the kids, who is 13 years old, who was born here. They had to reach out to me, because I’m a US citizen, being like, ‘Hey, something happened to us. Can we entrust our kid to you?’ And I’m in college, I’m 20. So it’s nerve-wracking that they have to be put in such a situation where they have to try to plan their future for their kid in the case that they won’t be
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Pasco, Wash. ICE Protest.
(Photo courtesy of Jessica Batres Calderon/@jessbatrescalderon)