Student organizations are educating and providing resources for Sun Devils in light of national objection and scrutiny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence.
The federal agency reached a record-high of over 70,000 people being held in detention centers nationwide as of mid-January — an increase of about 75% in just one year, according to the American Immigration Council.
Protests and student demonstrations have taken place on campus denouncing ICE's presence, and student organizations are working to advocate for student safety.
The Chicano/Latino Law Students Association (CLLSA) spoke out in an Instagram post condemning ICE on campus following an ASU Law tabling event that had invited the U.S Department of Homeland Security's ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.
READ MORE: ICE backs out of ASU law event amid student petition, backlash
Maya Dominguez, a law student and vice president of external relations at CLLSA, said the organization stands with students and does not want to welcome ICE on campus in any capacity.
Dominguez also said CLLSA exists as a student organization "to foster a positive environment for all students on campus regardless of their background, citizenship status, ethnicity, whatever it might be."
Conversations surrounding ICE spiked for the club about a year ago following a tabling event by College Republicans United, where students were called to report their peers to ICE. Since then, conversations regarding ICE have become more prevalent within the group and the University overall, Dominguez said.
CLLSA has partnered with community organizations to plan "know your rights" events, and has volunteered in immigration clinics as well as citizenship and naturalization fairs.
Dominguez said the club hopes to do more volunteering and pro bono work in the future.
"As a club, we want to make sure that we're speaking up and speaking out about things that are happening in our community," Dominguez said. "We believe that the students should feel comfortable in basically what is a second home to them at school."
Marlee Valenzuela, a senior studying political science and the president of Planned Parenthood Generation Action at ASU (PPGEN), said the topic of immigration rights is intersectional to the group's advocacy for reproductive rights.
"(It) just comes down to our basic understanding of autonomy and keeping your hands off our bodies," Valenzuela said. "When we're fighting for immigration rights, we're also fighting for reproductive rights, because (of) that basic autonomy."
PPGEN provides know your rights zines from the American Civil Liberties Union to students, Valenzuela said. The zines include a list of rights for people to refer to during interactions with ICE and other law enforcement.
Along with zines, Valenzuela said the organization gives out Family Education Rights and Privacy Act forms to students seeking them.
FERPA forms give students the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from their educational records, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
"ASU, I feel like, prides itself in being a campus that is inclusive and that can be accessible to anyone," Valenzuela said. "Allowing immigrants, allowing dreamers to get their education, is a very bare minimum task that they can do."
Paola Villegas, a junior studying technological leadership and executive vice president for Young Democrats at ASU, said they have spoken with other organizations about the current climate and how to best protect communities.
Villegas said that as a democratic organization, it feels like their responsibility to get students to realize they have power.
"We try to be a place where people feel comfortable," Villegas said. "Some students genuinely feel like this is the only place where they can actively talk about how they feel politically."
Dhruv Rebba, a senior and president of Young Democrats at ASU, said he has been making student red cards since early 2025.
Red cards are small, discreet business cards that have information on how people, regardless of immigration status, can exercise their rights, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
"As long as the people in our communities here in Arizona, our friends and neighbors, are being targeted, we're going to stand up for them and make sure that they feel safe and that we're using our platform," Rebba said.
As the November midterm approaches, voting for officials who will protect all Arizonans is the best way for students to make a change, Rebba said.
"If you want to change this, you have to vote," Rebba said. "There's no way you can change this without voting."
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Henry Smardo, Emilio Alvarado, Katrina Michalak and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at dbell39@asu.edu and follow @dhemibell on X.
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Dhemi Bell is a reporter on the Community and Culture desk at The State Press. She is a second-year at Arizona State University. This is her first semester with The State Press.
