On Jan. 20, Donald Trump was officially inaugurated for his second term as president, becoming the first president to sign 61 executive orders in their first 100 days in office. During Trump’s first term he signed 33. Throughout his presidency, Trump has expressed a desire to limit or even end birthright citizenship, arguing that it was being abused by undocumented immigrants who came to the United States to give birth in order to secure U.S. citizenship for their children. He referred to this as “birth tourism” and suggested that the practice was being abused. Trump’s team proposed that ending birthright citizenship would help reduce illegal immigration and prevent the misuse of U.S. immigration laws.    

Trump constantly made statements about using executive orders to end birthright citizenship, claiming that the practice could be changed by a presidential decree and instilling fear in undocumented people living in the U.S. However, legal experts disagreed with this interpretation. The 14th Amendment is clear in granting citizenship to anyone born on United States soil with few exceptions. Ending birthright citizenship would most likely need a constitutional amendment rather than an executive order. 

In January, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implemented operations in Goleta and Santa Barbara, causing concern across Latino communities. The ICE agents were spotted in vehicles without identification, detaining people in Old Town Goleta and the West and East Side of Santa Barbara. 

These actions have created additional fear among residents, including U.S. citizens, due to concerns about racial profiling and the potential for family separations that have been going on for decades. Local organizations such as Immigrant Hope Santa Barbara have been actively providing help and information to the communities, including resources on legal rights. 

On Jan. 31, hundreds of Santa Barbara community members came together for a peaceful protest against recent ICE activity and deportations. People of all ages attended, including a senior at Santa Barbara High School, Ana Reyes, who said, “The reason I wanted to attend the Milpas protest was to show support for my own family and overall the whole Latino community. My parents were encouraging me to go since they themselves are undocumented and they have been afraid in the last couple of weeks, as were many people in Santa Barbara.” 

There was also a walk down State Street on Feb. 7, 2025, which Reyes also attended. “I participated in the State Street walk because again, it was encouraged by my family, but I also knew there (were) going to be less people since not many were spreading the word around as much as (the) Milpas protest. So even with a couple more people, including myself, can still show the care for the topic of protest. I believe it is important for people, especially young people to speak out on these issues because knowing that this is being spread amongst friends or on social media brings awareness to the fear that some people are currently going through. For all the young people that decided to be a part of either one of the protests speaking on behalf of a parent, friend, or just anyone really brings hope and shows that the younger generation knows current issues and truly cares.”