February 13, 2025 Volume 8, Issue 4 @thenuevacurrent
The Student Newspaper of The Nueva School San Mateo, California
ART BY ANWEN C. ’26
Residing Here in Fear and Faith
San Mateo County immigrant communities and allies rally in wake of new Trump administration By Kayla L. Opinion Editor
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Many local businesses and street vendors participated on Feb. 3 in the “A Day Without Immigrants” protest to raise awareness about the positive economic and cultural contributions of immigrants to America. On Feb. 6, hundreds of high school students from schools such as Sequoia, Menlo-Atherton, Woodside, Summit Prep, Tide Academy walked out of their classes in protest of deportations. They rallied around some of San Mateo County’s most vulnerable residents who face deportation: undocumented immigrants, who live in America without legal immigration status. This may mean that an immigrant entered the country illegally, entered legally but overstayed, or is in the process of gaining citizenship. It is a civil offense but not a crime to be undocumented, and immigrants with U visas or green cards are not considered undocumented. At present, there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. In 2019, the Migration Policy Institute
Inside this Issue:
ho does Trump and his administration see as a criminal right now?” Adriana Cortes* asked a room of San Mateo County residents last week. Cortes, a community organizer through national faith-based nonprofit Faith in Action, paused as the room went silent. Slowly, attendees came to the same conclusion: “Todos nosotros.” All of us. The members of Faith in Action’s San Mateo County chapter are mostly immigrants from Central and Latin America. According to the census, they are among the foreign-born residents that make up 35.6% of San Mateo County’s population. There are over 265,000 immigrants out of the region’s 745,000 residents. In recent weeks, many immigrant families throughout the United States have grappled with anxiety, fear, and confusion, as they anticipate increasing challenges to remaining in the U.S. under the Trump administration. In response, organizations are quickly adapting and rallying to protect their rights in hopes of staying in America. Trump Proofing Trump’s first month in office has been consumed by a flurry of executive orders. The effectiveness of these decrees lie in state decisions.
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Review: Emilia Perez Though set in Mexico, the Oscar-nominated film avoided actual representation. PHOTO BY NETFLIX
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estimated that there were 55,000 people living without legal authorization in San Mateo County. President Trump has long sought to deport and stop the arrival of undocumented immigrants. In the 2016 presidential race, he frequently discussed building a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent immigrants from crossing into the country. In his 2016–2020 administration, he deported about 1.2 million people. Notably, former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden each deported more people per year than Trump did in his first term. “The reality is that there is no difference when quantifying deportations. The deportation machine continues to work regardless of who is [president],” Cortes said. “The problem is the way they’re doing it. When it’s Democrats, they are doing it in the darkness. No fear or threats, just direct action. The problem with this administration is the way they’re treating people before they start to take action.” For his second presidential campaign
Los Angeles Fires Nueva community members reflect on the impact of the fires.
PHOTO BY REESE GANNON
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and administration, Trump has made immigration and securing the border even more of a central topic. In a speech in Iowa in late 2023, he stated his intention to “carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” Now that President Trump is back in the Oval Office, he has already taken significant action surrounding immigration and border security. His stated aim is to protect the country from drug cartels and foreign terrorist groups. Research in 2024 from the American Immigrant Council showed that higher immigrant population shares do not increase crime rates in the U.S. President Trump has signed seven Executive Orders related to immigration, including one named “Securing Our Borders,” which moves to create a physical barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border and cancels use of the "CBP One" app, an app that immigrants used to navigate immigrating to the U.S. Continued on Pages 10-11
Talking Back Female public forum debaters discuss the prevalence and impact of sexism within the activity.
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The Team Behind Media Day Meet Vype and its professionals who photograph and video student athletes.
PHOTO BY DIANE MAZZONI
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