Associated Press
SEATTLE — The president of Seattle University’s student government, who was brought into the U.S. illegally as a child, has stepped down from his role in the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election.
Seattle University senior Carlos Rodriguez said President Donald Trump’s inauguration, executive orders regarding immigration, the travel ban and the wall on the southern U.S. border hit him all at once.
“When my life is at risk, I can’t do this anymore,” said Rodriguez, who left his post on Monday.
His parents crossed the Texas-Mexican border without permission when he was 3 years old in search of a better life for him and his brother, he said. For a time, they were homeless, and Rodriguez said he attended five different high schools.
Rodriguez said recently he’s been having nightmares and obsessing over his family’s safety in Georgia, checking online security cameras that he installed when he was last home for a visit.
Instead of leading student government, Rodriguez said he plans to focus on helping other students without legal status find a way to attend college and, like him, become part of the Deferred Action for Early Childhood Arrival (DACA) program, The Seattle Times reported.
It’s still unclear how the Trump administration will address students like Rodriguez who meet the provisions of DACA.
This week, Washington Reps. Dave Reichert of Auburn, Pramila Jayapal of Seattle and Dan Newhouse of Sunnyside co-sponsored federal legislation that would allow people who came to the U.S. as children to remain in this country without fear of deportation for three years while Congress and the administration update immigration laws.
Seattle University President Stephen Sundborg underscored in November the university’s support for students living in the country without legal permission and wrote Sunday about the school’s opposition to Trump’s executive order, which temporarily suspends the entire U.S. refugee program and bans all entry from seven countries with majority-Muslim populations for 90 days.
Kate Hannick, executive vice president of student government, said Rodriguez’s decision brought home in a personal way how the Trump administration’s choices on immigration could affect students.
“He’s friends with everyone, and everyone loves him,” said Hannick. “And I think people really respect him and his ideas and his voice.”
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