By Anette Perez
Trinity Times Correspondent

Trinity Washington University’s fall semester has been complicated by the federalization of Washington’s police and the deployment of federal troops in the nation’s capital, creating a tense environment for many students.

Trinity sophomore Moriah Turner told Trinity Times she has been anxious and fearful since moving into the dorms in August, as the increased police and military presence in the city raises safety concerns for her and her peers.

“Having such a high military presence is really frightening,” Turner said. “There’s not a lot of trust nowadays, especially in the people who are supposed to protect us.”

The military presence has created obstacles for students not only physically but also mentally and academically. Students have said they feel unsafe outside Trinity’s campus, and the stress extends beyond personal safety. Some worry about the safety of their families, and that anxiety can seep into daily routines and academic responsibilities.

Trinity students began the school year under unprecedented circumstances. One month ago, President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in the District of Columbia and invoked Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act for the first time in history.

On Aug. 11, Trump signed an executive order claiming Washington was “becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness.”

Immediately after his declaration, the Metropolitan Police Department was placed under federal control, and thousands of National Guard troops were deployed throughout the city. For many Trinity students, this created an uneasy start to the 2025 fall semester.

The federal interventions have been criticized as an occupation by many Washington residents, including District Attorney General Brian Schwalb. Schwalb filed a lawsuit to end the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops and called the action an “unlawful military occupation.”

The White House responded to Schwalb by saying the Guard’s presence is within Trump’s authority as president. According to the White House, the deployments are part of the federal initiative “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful,” which aims to reduce crime, enforce federal laws, improve quality of life and beautify federal and public spaces in D.C.

Critics have labeled the federal takeover a rehearsal for authoritarian control rather than a safety measure. 

Among D.C. residents who said they’d noticed more federal agents, 61% said the increased federal presence made them feel less safe, according to a Washington Post–Schar School poll. Some residents, however, have welcomed the additional police presence and believe crime is improving.

Within D.C., the initiative has sparked sharp debate, and Trinity students are no exception. The fall semester typically brings academic and emotional stress, and students often spend time off campus to decompress. The heavy military presence, however, appears to be disrupting those routines.

“I haven’t left campus much, but when I do leave campus to get the essentials, I usually go to places that are down the street,” Turner said. “I don’t like to go too far.”

Turner said she fears for the safety of her friends, who are of various ethnicities. When Turner, who is Black, does venture off campus, she said she is hyperaware that the increased police presence may subject her or her friends to racial profiling.

Turner’s fears have intensified following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. 

On Sept. 8, 2025, the Supreme Court granted a stay of a lower-court injunction that had restricted immigration stops in the Los Angeles area. The court’s stay allows immigration officers to continue certain investigative stops while the case proceeds on appeal; the lower court had barred stops based on factors such as location, type of work, language and apparent ethnicity, and the Supreme Court’s stay leaves those enforcement practices in effect for now.

Legal experts have interpreted that ruling as permitting immigration agents to use race, language and employment status as legitimate factors in deciding whom to stop or detain, a practice often described as racial profiling.

The U.S. Department of Justice has discouraged racial profiling for more than a decade, stating it leads to discriminatory policing and civil rights violations.

“In D.C. and at Trinity there’s a big Latino population, and I feel that ruling will affect a lot of people’s lives,” said Jennifer Kelly-Figueroa, a Trinity junior and commuter student. She called the decision unfair. “It’s just an invasion of privacy, and it’s literally racial profiling.”

In addition to the National Guard and Metropolitan Police, immigration agents have increased their presence in D.C. According to reports from news organizations including The Washington Post, enforcement officials have been seen across the city, including around the National Mall, Union Station, Metro stations, federal buildings and waterfront areas.

Trinity President Patricia McGuire has issued several campuswide statements offering safety advice, reminding students of their rights and outlining how to interact with enforcement officers.

“We advise you to use the Campus Shuttle to go to and from Metro, and if you can, use ride share services rather than public transportation,” McGuire said in an Aug. 18 email to all Trinity students. “We want you to go about your lives as normally as possible, but we also urge you to take great care in where you are going.”

Trinity Vice President of Student Affairs Karen Gerlach told Trinity Times the heightened presence has caused some students to be late for class, miss class or question whether they should attend at all.

“I think the main thing that we’re doing is just trying to encourage people to come to class and be here,” she said. Gerlach stressed that Trinity wants students to voice their concerns so the university can help address and mitigate them.

While the climate in Washington remains uncertain, Gerlach said there are many ways students can cope with stress, anxiety and worry.

She assured students that Trinity has multiple resources available through the counseling staff in the Health and Wellness Center and strict policies governing how outside agencies can access campus.

“We would never allow outside law enforcement or agencies to go into classrooms or go into residence halls or do any of that,” Gerlach said. “This is something that we’ve dealt with before, so we do have some strict protocols.”

According to Gerlach, Trinity security actively patrols the campus and its perimeter. The university can also refer students to outside support services, such as legal assistance from American University’s legal clinic.

“I’m a D.C. raised and born kid, and D.C. has gone through a lot of things, but I think right now, the climate we’re in is really, really scary,” Kelly-Figueroa said. “And I feel like talking to other people really helps.”

For students like Turner and Kelly-Figueroa, Trinity’s role as a steady source of support feels especially important during uncertain times. In a campus email, McGuire encouraged students to seek help through academic advisers, mental health services, campus security or directly from her office.

“I would hope that Trinity continues to be a voice for, you know, logic,” Gerlach said, reflecting on her vision for the university’s future. “We are educating future world leaders and that’s a way that we can infuse what can happen in the future.”