As Trump Targets Schools for Deportation Sweeps, Undocumented UC Berkeley Students Call For More Support

Here are the top stories this morning for Friday, April 11th, 2025:

• President Trump says he will not limit the scope of his deportation efforts, going so far as to say schools across the country will also be targeted in sweeps and raids by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. That looming threat has undocumented students attending UC Berkeley calling on the university to issue a strong statement of support for them.
• Santa Clara County’s District Attorney is moving forward with pressing charges against a dozen students that took part in last year’s on-campus pro-Palestinian protests, where demonstrators occupied the office of the campus resident. The Santa Clara DA alleges that the students are responsible  for thousands of dollars in damages, and are facing felony vandalism and trespassing related charges.
• The Trump Administration’s trade war with China is heating up, and that may not bode well for California’s agriculture businesses in the Central Valley.

Undocumented UC Berkeley Students Want Same Support The School Showed in First Trump Term 

When President Trump was expressing his aspirations to deport undocumented immigrants from the US en masse during his first term, UC Berkeley did not mince words about supporting its undocumented student.

But the university has taken a less conspicuous approach to voicing its concern for potential raids on its campus. This comes as the Trump Administration has threatened to pull funding from UC Berkeley and other California universities over any policies it deems promotes DEI, as well as claims that school officials allowed antisemitism to run rampant because of last year’s pro-Palestinian protests. The threats sparked faculty and student protests against in February against the funding cuts.

Since the new administration aims to ramp up immigration sweeps and target spaces that were once deemed sanctuaries for the undocumented, those students at UC Berkeley are asking university officials to match the same energy it had in 2017 and take a stronger stance against the Trump Administration’s deportation policies.

California’s Central Valley Could Become Collateral Damage in China-US Trade War Escalation

China has placed a 125 percent tariff on all US imports. It was a direct response to the Trump Administration calling for a 145 percent tariff to be placed on all Chinese imports.

The tit-for-tat has already shaken up some of California’s biggest industries, like Silicon Valley and Hollywood, but the state’s agriculture sector is in flux over the tariff battle. Ag businesses in the Central Valley are already lamenting how these tariffs will impact revenues.