Social work major Mariana Degante was among a small group of friends on campus protesting ICE raids under President Trump. She plans to revive the inactive Raices club.
By Jaden Perry
The Spectrum Newspaper
A huge Mexican flag swaying in the wind, a speaker blasting Mexican music and a sign reading ‘A DAY WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS’ greeted students at the Student Center entrance on Monday afternoon, Feb. 3.
“We wanted to make sure a statement was being made here at Bowie State University,” said protest organizer Mariana Degante.
Degante is a junior at Bowie State and the daughter of immigrant parents. Along with four friends, Degante marched around campus, displaying various homemade signs that read “#DREAMERS,” “DON’T BITE THE HANDS THAT FEED YOU” and “NO ONE IS AN IMMIGRANT ON STOLEN LAND.”
Though small, the group of student protesters joined a larger, nationwide movement called “A Day Without Immigrants.” The loosely organized national protest originated in 2017 to denounce President Trump’s immigration policies.
As the name suggests, protesters across the country wanted to demonstrate what a day without immigrants would look like — resulting in business closures, work callouts, class walkouts and organized marches. Now, in 2025, the movement has been renewed in protest of Trump’s current crackdown on immigration.
“The overall goal is just to have an inclusive community and let them know that they are supported and that we’re here for them,” added Degante.
The same day, Bowie State University emailed an official statement to students, emphasizing their protection from U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on campus. “It’s very comforting to hear,” Degante said.
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Bowie State is not allowed to release the citizenship status of any student enrolled at the University.
However, those same protections don’t extend to others in Degante’s life.
Under the new Trump administration, she recalled two instances of people being deported in her community. The first was a family friend who was found in Annapolis, Maryland, arrested and deported by ICE. At first, Degante was unaware of his arrest until his brothers told her.
“You never know where they’re taking them,” she said.
As of Feb. 6, Degante did not know his whereabouts — only that he was supposedly taken to Louisiana. She recalled that he had originally come to the U.S to provide for his family back in Mexico, but she was unsure about his citizenship status or criminal history.
Another family friend of Degante confided a similar experience to her — two of his coworkers were recently arrested and deported while working in Washington D.C.
In an attempt to locate the deportees, Degante searched for their locations on ICE’s website: locator.ice.gov. “It didn’t give much detail,” she said.
The friend also told Degante that his coworker was leaving behind a wife and kids. And, as of Feb. 6th, the friend wasn’t willing to return to work in fear of being arrested next. “It causes a lot of worry,” said Degante. “You just want to hear from them again to at least know where they’re taking them and what the next steps are.”
The fear that Degante’s friend experienced is felt throughout the immigrant community. Many of them are hesitant to go into work, or even grocery shop in fear of deportation and family separation.
Under President Trump’s sweeping changes to U.S immigration policy, ICE can make arrests in “sensitive areas” such as schools and churches. However, officers are still required to have a search warrant signed by a judge.
In response to the growing anxiety within the country — and within herself — Degante has decided to stay grounded in her faith and support her community in any way she can.
“My major is social work and they do teach us to advocate for, you know, the marginalized, the oppressed, the minorities … everyone in general. So it’s already like hardwired into my brain.”
Her support takes many forms: working at food pantries to help those too afraid to go shopping, educating her community on undocumented immigrant rights and — being the child of two pastors — prayer. “If someone is worried, me as a Christian, my automatic response, I’m gonna pray for you.”
She plans to extend that support to the BSU community as well. Degante hopes to revive Raices — a recently inactive campus club that focused on promoting advocacy and cultural unity within the student body. “It’s to help the community,” she said, “to give them a voice, to know that we’re there for you, for better or for worse, that you’re not by yourself. There are resources out there.”