By Rory McNelley, Staff Writer 

Hispanic Organization and LatinX Awareness (HOLA) hosted a “Know Your Rights” event to educate people on immigration in response to the recent changes to immigration policy by the Trump Administration.

The event took place in the Arrupe Overlook last Wednesday evening and was co-sponsored by Spanish Club, Gamma Alpha Omega and RefugeXavier. The event was created as a higher education initiative aimed at addressing the barriers refugee students face after resettlement.

Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Ivy Banks and Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Kimberly Moore were in attendance. 

The event began with student testimonials about their experiences with immigration, undocumented loved ones and the path to citizenship in the United States. 

“Kudos to them for speaking from their heart. It was super brave of them and moving to hear. The difficult path to obtaining citizenship and the struggles that go along with it are real problems impacting real people, and that’s not something I want to forget,” junior biomedical sciences major Meg Calumpang said. 

The next portion of the event was about awareness and advocacy. The Executive Director of the Immigrant and Refugee Law Center Mayra Casas Jackson spoke about her organization and how they are adapting to the new policies that are being put into place. 

“Our idea was to educate students on both the legal side and the advocacy portion of immigration. We reached out to Legal Aid of Cincinnati, who connected us with an attorney who could speak at our event,” senior biology major and President of HOLA Lola Perez said.

On his first day in office President Trump signed executive orders that expanded legal authorities to enforce immigration law, including ordering the expansion of expedited removal, granting the authority to deport someone without a court hearing, according to the American Immigration Council. 

Jackson said that although it has been hard for her organization to keep up with all the changes in the law and uncertain circumstances, it is even harder for those living with uncertain immigration status, especially those who may not have access to legal representation. 

The Immigrant and Refugee Law Center has resources available on their website in both English and Spanish that educate readers on topics ranging from understanding search warrants to creating family plans in case of emergencies. 

“My partners and I have been wanting to have an event like this for a while. I wanted to learn more about it for myself, and in talking with members of HOLA, Spanish Club and RefugeXavier, I realized that I’m not the only one who doesn’t know all that much about the legal side of immigration and how we can support our neighbors who have varying citizenship statuses,” Perez said. 

The event included resources on how to get involved in the movement. Representatives from the Jesuit non-profit Ignite Peace, Nora Hernandez & Mackenzie Doyle were there to provide ways for people who are not targeted by the recent legislation to get involved in advocacy and support their neighbors. 

“There are teams in place. One is marketing, one is protest planning, one is resource distribution, which are dedicated to supporting populations that are a little bit more underrepresented, but being targeted right now due to recent legislation,” Perez said. “That way the majority of the people that attended could still support their neighbors.” 

The event concluded with calling those in attendance to take what they learned at the event and ignite change in the Xavier community and beyond.