President Trump’s visit to SD

Trump’s first visit to California since his presidency was greeted with protest

Glenn McDonell | Contributor | The USD Vista

Five miles to the west of the U.S.-Mexican border wall, on a hill in San Ysidro overlooking the international border, stands Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, the site of one of the several protests which occurred in the San Diego area in response to President Donald Trump’s first visit as president to California.

Last week, President Trump visited the San Diego area to inspect border wall prototypes in the morning before flying up to Los Angeles for a Republican Party fundraiser in Beverly Hills.

Trump spoke with several military officials after arriving at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar and was then escorted by helicopter to Brown Field near the U.S.-Mexico border where the eight prototypes for a border wall stood on display, according to NBC San Diego.

Brown Field is situated near Otay Mesa, one of two major commercial ports of entry between the San Diego and Tijuana urban areas.

Sophomore and M.E.Ch.A. co-chair Daniel Rodriguez joined hundreds of others at the rally in the parking lot of the parish to protest Trump’s policies.

“I personally wanted to go to the demonstration to show solidarity with the Dreamers and participate in the community,” Rodriguez said.  “As someone who has the privilege of citizenship, I feel like it’s important to speak on behalf of our undocumented brothers and sisters who are forced to remain silent.”

The gathering at the church was organized by the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, and was the largest planned anti-Trump protest which occurred during the presidential visit, as stated by the Times of San Diego.

“As we drove up, we noticed there were a lot of news groups surrounding the church and you could see a massive group of people,” Rodriguez said. “From where we were standing you could see all of the security surrounding Trump down at the border.”

The event lasted several hours and featured speeches from multiple local policymakers, religious leaders, and union organizers, followed by an open-mic session which gave those in attendance a chance to make their voices heard.

“A lot of people were going up to the podium and sharing their personal stories about how they have contributed to the U.S., and some of them even came out as undocumented,” Rodriguez said. “They talked about how they believe themselves to be American and how being American is much more than just a piece of paper — it’s what you carry in your heart.”

Rodriguez traveled down to San Ysidro that morning accompanied by other members from the Mulvaney Center, where he works as a student leader in the Beyond Borders program.

“A lot of the work we do is regarding immigration, so it was important for us to go down there and see what was going on,” Rodriguez said.  “We’re always trying to see what we can do here on campus.”

The Beyond Borders program through the Mulvaney Center provides students with the opportunity to visit Tijuana on immersion trips designed to increase awareness of border-related issues.

“A lot of people like to talk about the issues but many of them have never actually been down and witnessed these issues in action,” Rodriguez said.  “It’s important to take students from USD down to the border to put a human face on the realities of what goes on.”

While Rodriguez has chosen to make a difference through the Beyond Borders program, his fellow co-chair in M.E.Ch.A. and sophomore Krystal Alvarez has directed her efforts toward involvement in policy advocacy with the ACLU. She also organized student visits on campus in the past.

“I started my work with the ACLU in September of last year with the Clean DREAM Act campaign and the protection of immigrant youth and communities,” Alvarez said.  “Last semester, we were able to recruit 40 students from USD to attend a protest in Vista, to bring attention to the importance of saving DACA, and to canvass door-to-door to encourage people to call Congress.”

Alvarez, who was not able to attend Tuesday’s protest because of work commitments, expressed her support for those who did.

“I’m proud that young people are standing up for the undocumented and for DACA recipients,” Alvarez said.  “We need to make sure that Trump knows that we haven’t given up the fight.”

The demonstration in San Ysidro was planned to be far removed from any of the pro-Trump rallies closer to the border wall prototypes.

According to the San Diego Union­-Tribune, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department warned potential activists to stay off of the parcels of land surrounding the location of Trump’s border visit.  This advisory along with the heavy amount of security forced both supporters and opponents to choose separate locations for their demonstrations.

Nevertheless, some students felt safer staying away from the scene at the border entirely.

Senior and founder of the USD chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Eric Kraft did not attend any of the protests or encourage other members to do so because of safety concerns.

“My comrades and I chose not to attend any of the protests because we had heard that security might be an issue,” Kraft said. “Fortunately for the protesters that went, these claims were unfounded.”

While Kraft did not call upon the members of his group to attend the demonstration, he did express his position on the presidential visit.

“I would like to say that I condemn in the strongest terms President Trump’s brutal assault on the rights of people trying to reach a better life in America,” Kraft said. “No human being is illegal.”

According to their national website, SDS is a radical multi-issue organization that “leads campaigns to win change” and “builds people power in our schools and communities.”

Opinions on Trump’s visit and issues surrounding the potential border wall were not limited to students in activist groups.

Sophomore marketing major and law and ethics minor Riya Pandit studied ethical concerns in the realm of immigration policy and takes issue with the Trump Administration’s agenda.

“I absolutely believe that the administration is enacting a very regressive method of immigration policies,” she said.  “This country was founded on the backs of immigrants and through the terrible treatment of the natives, and that’s something the administration seems to forget when it comes to modern-day immigration.”

Pandit sees this disconnect between the realities of immigration and the Trump Administration’s agenda as something which USD students should actively speak out against.

“We (USD students) are grassroots leaders who can make a difference in our communities when they’re hurting,” Pandit said.  “It’s your duty not only as a citizen of the United States, but also of the world.”

Alvarez expressed similar sentiments and feels that this duty also stems from privilege.

“I have a lot of family members who are undocumented, and a couple of cousins who are DACA recipients, and this fight is for them,” Alvarez said.  “I have to use my privilege as a citizen to be informed and inform others because the lives of those I love are at risk.”

President Trump’s visit to California comes in the midst of an ongoing legal battle between top-state officials and the Department of Justice over policies which allegedly make the state and its municipalities into “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants.  Whether California is able to maintain immigration policies which contradict federal trends may depend on whether those who are legal citizens advocate on behalf of those who are not.