Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Trump And An Anti-Immigrant Climate: Implications For Latinx Undergraduates, Jeremy D. Franklin, Rudy Medina

Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs

Historically minoritized students regularly report hostile campus climates and cultures, but the election of Donald J. Trump and the rise of conservative guest speakers on campuses have contributed to greater unrest. Using campus climate and culture literature as a framework, this paper investigates the impact of anti-Latinx rhetoric and race/ethnic unconscious policies on Latinx undergraduates. Findings from focus groups highlight eight themes: 1) Power of Political Rhetoric and Trump, 2) Coded Language, 3) Unsafe Academic Spaces, 4) Racialization of Immigration as a Latinx/Chicanx Issue, 5) Burnout, Stress, and Racial Battle Fatigue, 6) Balancing Academic Commitments and Social Activism, 7) The …