Taking action to help undocumented students at UC Berkeley post-election

In the wake of the presidential election, a number of student efforts came to the fore, from protests to healing circles to petitions. Across campus, students have been struggling since then with what it means that this country elected Donald Trump, and what that might mean for them personally. This has been an even more fraught time for people who are members of vulnerable and marginalized groups, such people of color, Muslims, queer and trans people, and especially, undocumented immigrants.

One of the student efforts that quickly gained publicity was a petition created by Joel Sati and Shikha Bhattacharjee, calling on UC Berkeley to declare tangible support and protections for undocumented students, in the face of the threat that a Trump administration poses to them.

Joel Sati, one of the petition’s organizers, is an undocumented student in his first semester at Berkeley. In between final papers and enjoying the weather and laughing at East Coasters, he was kind enough to answer some questions about why they created this petition, what they plan to do with it, what the election means for undocumented students at Berkeley, and what allies to undocumented students can do to help.

Is this petition affiliated with any campus organizations or local activist group, such as the Undocumented Students Program? And if so, what are other things these groups are doing right now in the face of Donald Trump’s election?

Though the petition began as unaffiliated with campus organizations, I have connected with campus organizers who have joined in the effort to move the petition forward. Originally, a few students in my program were thinking about actions, and this was one of them.

Can you explain the aims of this petition in your own words?

The aims of this petition are to substantiate what I feel can be easy platitudes when it comes to undocumented immigrants. It is very easy to merely state that the university will protect undocumented immigrants. But for people for whom this is an ever-present reality, it is important that such talk be backed up with concrete action to the fullest extent. Thus, in devising the petition, we found it extremely important to have concrete asks, as asking for a statement opens up to institutionally copping out.

Can you talk a bit about how you personally—and the community in general—have been reacting to the election, and how that reaction led to this petition?

As an undocumented person, it was both shocking and depressing the first day after the election. And one of the things I always will remember was my colleagues telling me they had my back. And I believe them. But it’s an entirely different thing to know what having one’s back means. Thus, as the days went by since, that grief turned into a strategic anger where I and others were devising plans and concrete asks. This petition is only part of that strategy; the work continues.

What are the biggest things that allies can do to support undocumented students right now?

That’s a very complicated question, and I can’t claim to have the answer. There’s a lot still yet unknown as to Trump’s immigration apparatus. But generally speaking, I’ve been pushing my friends, especially those with power and privilege, to discuss politics and their complicity in the rise and normalization of brash white nationalism during this holiday season. They should note the irony of celebrating Thanksgiving while #NoDAPL is going on. This political environment is especially bad for undocumented, indigenous, trans, and other marginalized groups, and right now the best thing to do is to own up.

How has the response to the petition been? When will you be submitting it to the university, and to who, if you haven’t already?

The petition has over 4,000 signatures, which is way more than I expected. What has really been amazing to see is the faculty support for the petition. We are strategizing as to what to do with the petition, and there’ll be news on that front soon.

What’s the one thing you most want want people to hear in this article?

I want the UC System, especially President Napolitano, to unequivocally support undocumented persons, and declare UC a sanctuary place for all undocumented persons—she shouldn’t just commit to undocumented students, but workers and mixed-status families.