Trump’s War on Academia

What the arrest of UF student Felipe Velasquez means for us and the schools across America

By: Cing Huai

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Credit: The Independent Florida Alligator

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On March 28, Felipe Zapata Velasquez, a third-year international student at the University of Florida was detained in Gainesville, FL after being pulled over for an expired license and registration. 

As of now he is being held at Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami-Dade County, where he is awaiting his case. Known for its history of overcrowded and inhumane living conditions, it is reported that Velasquez has not been heard from since entering the facility.

As reported by The Alligator, Velasquez held an F-1 Visa. While this type of visa has strict requirements for revocation, it does not impact their legal status within the United States—only their ability to re-enter the country.

So why was he detained after a minor violation?

It’s alarming that Velasquez is not the first student to be detained as arbitrary as expired

licenses. Rümeysa Öztürk, a doctoral student at Tufts University, was detained by masked,

undercover officers while walking on March 25, just three days before Velasquez. 

Her crime? An op-ed criticizing the university’s response to Israel’s war on Gaza, according to CNN. 

It is also said that Mahmoud Khalil, a masters student at Columbia University was arrested and detained by ICE as a Palestinian activist who had a role as a negotiator during Columbia’s pro-Palestine encampments last year. 

Despite their status as a legal resident both Khalil and Öztürk were considered as “terrorists” with connection to Hamas. 

The Trump administration has made good on their mission of mass deportations by making an example of those who are against his administration and are politically outspoken. As of now, ICE has also been granted access to enter colleges, universities, and K-12 schools. 

No one is safe.

Trump’s war on higher education extends to the institutions themselves such as Cornell,

Harvard, Yale, and Columbia, cutting their funding or implementing a freeze under the guise of

anti-semitism. 

Even at UF, federal funding was frozen for programs with the agenda of “ending

wokeness” and “woke gender ideology” per administration's orders and would not be cleared if

not removed leading to the language of programs being changed.

It is clear that the Trump administration intends to intimidate and or eradicate what they deem “woke” or “terrorist” all under the mask of being “unAmerican.”

We’ve seen these tactics before and it is not subtle. As young students we should be quick

to recognize patterns and know our rights. 

According to The Alligator, since Felipe Velasquez’s arrest, UF has since partnered with ICE to enforce on-campus immigration enforcement, also known as the 287(g) program. 

Described as working to, “arrest and removal of aliens who undermine the safety of our nation’s communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws.” Which begs the question: How exactly did Felipe undermine the safety of students at UF?

It’s ironic that the one behind bars is a student with an expired license and not the convicted

felon.

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 Cing Huai is a Social Media Coordinator at Rowdy. When she’s not stuck in the studio working on projects she’s scrolling on TikTok for the latest news and planning her next five years in a green journal.