On October 2, 2025, the Students Against Tuition Hikes (SATH) led a peaceful protest against the United States Supreme Court’s decision allowing federal agents to use an individual’s ethnicity, race, language, and occupation as grounds for immigration checks. Roughly fifty students gathered in front of the CSUSB Alumni building and stood witness for several key speakers, who were both members of SATH and other students directly impacted by this decision.

Before we get into the details of the protest itself, it’s important to establish what this ruling is and how it will impact students at CSUSB. On September 8, 2025, the Supreme Court granted an emergency request in regards to the case of Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, therefore allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to continue utilizing roving patrols. This permits ICE agents to detain and question any individual based on their physical appearance, where they work, or even the establishment they are standing outside of.

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor writes in her dissenting opinion, “We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job.” This decision directly enables our government to racially profile people, whether they are a citizen of this country or not.

According to the official CSUSB website, 70% of our student body is Hispanic. This does not include professors, teaching assistants, janitorial staff, food service employees, or any other essential workers that allow our school to thrive. This ruling endangers every single one of those people, and it is telling them that their lives and hard work does not matter.

CSUSB students came out and showed that they will not allow such discrimination and mistreatment to stand. One such student would be freshman Daniela Lara Mancia, who reached out to the Students Against Tuition Hikes about her concerns regarding this ruling, and together they hosted what several students said was an incredibly powerful and emotional protest with the hope of protecting those on our campus that may be impacted by this ruling.

Lara Mancia stated, “I'm protesting this because it's gotten to a boiling point. At first, they were going for actual immigrants, but now they're targeting legitimate US citizens. It's preposterous. I found out yesterday that ICE agents are supposedly getting paid more than teachers. Like, come on.”

Jesus Medrano founded SATH two years ago as concerns about a 36% increase in tuition came to campus consciousness, all while “administration” did not make any attempt to “make people aware” of this steep change. Although they are still advocating for tuition to be lower, their goals are also centered around ensuring that every student on this campus knows their rights. SATH alerts students to upcoming protests using their Instagram account @csusb_sath.

He spoke with me of this new ruling and described how “a good amount of” the Hispanic population at CSUSB are first generation immigrants, which means they are more likely to be racially profiled. He went on to state how “we've already seen ICE be violent in Fontana, Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, San Bernardino, virtually every city that students here come from. It affects us heavily, it’s affecting our families, our communities, and even our students.”

The passion was radiating off both of these two in our interview, and when the day of the protest came around, even more emotion was buzzing in the air in front of the Alumni building. As students gathered with their cultural attire, megaphones, and signs, all the excitement and tension brewed into hope. The action began with protest organizer Lara Mancia giving a brief, yet powerful speech regarding the ruling.

She delivered her words with intensity and purpose, saying, “Immigrants are not a burden on America, they are America. They are essential workers, taxpayers, students, parents, and neighbors. They strengthen our community, and when we allow their rights to be violated, we make everyone less safe. I believe no one should be afraid of living on stolen land.”

From there, several other members of SATH, such as Ammilyn Deita, Jesus Medrano, and Itavi Miguel spoke for the crowd, and with the conclusion of each speech, the group’s determination to make a change intensified.

However, once SATH opened the floor up to the crowd for any student speakers wishing to contribute, all the emotion and determination reached a peak. Out of respect for the sheer amount of vulnerability it takes to go up in front of a crowd and bare your soul that deeply, I will not include any direct quotes from the student speakers. Lets just say there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.

As the speeches came to a close, the group began to mobilize and marched toward the CSUSB administration building in hopes of spurring some action from campus leaders. In such troubling and uncertain times, it’s important for the most powerful heads of our campus to protect and honor the rights of all who attend this school, whether they are documented or not.

This protest was extremely powerful and moving. It’s inspiring to see how CSUSB students step up for those whose voices have been silenced, and assure them that their hardships are just as important as anyone else's.

If you or someone you know needs support in such a difficult period for our country, know that there are many places on our campus that are willing and able to provide you with aid. The LatinX resource center is constantly hosting new events, as well as Student affairs. The students who gathered for this protest intended to show any onlookers how by standing against this unconstitutional, discriminatory ruling, they will be standing on the right side of history. Every student, faculty, and community member at CSUSB deserves to exist without fear that their livelihood could be ripped away at any given moment.