On January 20, President Donald Trump began his second term by
issuing 10 executive orders on U.S. immigration, intensifying national
tensions, especially within Hispanic communities. At East High School,
where many students are of Hispanic descent, concerns are rising about
the potential impact of these policies on students and their families.
East High School is the most diverse school in the Des Moines metro
area, with a total minority enrollment of 74.3 percent and 45.5 percent of
all minorities at East High School being Hispanic, the executive order has
had an immense impact on this strongly formed community built at East
High School.
Families of students are concerned, particularly regarding issues such
as deportation, access to education, and family separation. Many students
worry about how increased immigration enforcement could impact their
daily lives, with some fearing that their education could be cut short and
loved ones could be detained or forced to leave the country. Teachers
and administrators at East High School have acknowledged the growing
concerns and are working to provide support.
On January 24, Iowa activists rallied at the Iowa State Capitol to
protest Trump’s immigration policies. The rally came just days after an
individual was arrested in the Polk County Courthouse ‘without incident’
for illegal immigration status. Iowans everywhere have detested this policy
change and will do anything in their power to protect their strong long-standing community. The Party for Socialism & Liberation has stated that
this won’t be the last protest held, the organization and Iowan supporters
everywhere will continue to push back on unethical and inhumane immigration policy changes made by President Donald Trump.
This negative impact doesn’t just affect adults and teenagers, but
children, too. Pediatricians have reported an increasing rate of fear and
depression amongst children of immigrant parents, since Donald Trumps
first term in office according to Samantha Artiga, vice president and director of the Racial Equity and Health Policy Program. Many children have
developed behavioral changes like psychosomatic symptoms and mental
health issues such as anxiety and depression, the worry of having families
separated at a young age can form an underlying toxic stress disorder that
could lead to long-term implications for heart disease in a child’s adulthood.
Latinos in the United States are becoming increasing targets to bullying across schools in the nation, pediatricians have reported children
and teenagers have experienced bullying by peers for their immigration
status or their parents. Recently, Jocelynn Rojo Carranza took her own
life at just eleven years old, she had been subject to bullying by her peers
at Gainesville Intermediate School, where she was in the sixth grade.
Jocelynn’s peers on multiple occasions threatened to report her family to
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and get them deported, she had

reported this bullying to her teachers and even received counseling, yet
school authorities insist they weren’t made aware of the bullying she was
receiving, Carla Gloria Colome of El Pais reported.
The United States has constantly dehumanized undocumented
immigrants and their children who have legal citizenship yet nonetheless
refuse to take initiative on the discrimination and unconstitutional treatment of immigrant families.
Many individuals may ask the question, “how does this affect us if
we have citizenship?” In the study found by the American Immigration
Council using publicly available data from the Department of Homeland Security and American Community Survey shows, mass deportation of immigrant’s affects the entire United States, from the loss of
immigrant workers across U.S industries alone, mass deportation would
reduce the U.S. gross domestic product by 4.2 to 6.8 percent, leading
to significant reduction in tax revenues for the U.S. government, undocumented immigrants paid $46.8 billion in federal taxes, $29.3 billion
in state and local taxes in one year alone. Undocumented immigrants
contributed $22.6 billion to Social Security and 5.7 billion to Medicare.
Broken down, the United States will suffer a loss of $315 billion from
costs of arrests to removals.
Key industries will be impacted, mass deportations would cause a
detrimental loss of workers in needed industries, some of the largest
industries impacted being construction, agriculture and the hospitality
sector. 14 percent of all workers employed in construction are undocumented immigrants, meaning the deportation of these workers will
cause the entire industry across the nation to fall short on projects such
as homes, businesses, and healthcare facilities. From this, even U.S. born
workers could lose their jobs.
In the state of Iowa alone, immigrants make up 7.5 percent of
Iowa’s labor force, with industries such as construction, manufacturing, education, and waste services. Immigrants have accounted for over
$1.8 billion taxes paid in Iowa and undocumented immigrants have
accounted for over $418.6 million local and federal taxes paid according
to the American Immigration Council. Immigrants are key to Iowa and
especially Des Moines, which has seen an increased rate of immigrant
communities.
National debates over immigration policies will continue to be
dismayed, but students at East High School and the community of Des
Moines remain determined to protect their community, ensuring that
the community remains a place of safety, support, and unity