By Michelle Nataren
Trinity Times Correspondent
It is a fraught time for immigrant college students in the United States in 2025, but Trinity Washington University’s Butterfly Network is offering many a sense of security – a community free from the fear of federal immigration raids and deportation threats.
Nearly a year into Donald Trump’s second term, undocumented students across the country say they are living with a constant, grinding uncertainty that has seeped into every part of their daily lives. Some describe waking up unsure whether new federal directives will threaten their safety or that of their families. Others say they have learned to study with one eye on the news, bracing for policy shifts that could upend their education or lead to deportation proceedings. Campus counselors report heightened anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks among these students, many of whom avoid public events, travel or even routine interactions for fear of attracting attention.
Belky Lemus, a junior, came to Trinity from North Carolina, where she said there are few programs for undocumented students. When she arrived in 2023, she “felt welcomed” and “free,” thanks in large part to the Butterfly Network, a club that supports undocumented students on campus.
“The Butterfly Network creates a sisterhood community,” Lemus said Oct. 1 at the group’s first interest meeting of the 2025-26 academic year. “It’s a community where you can bond, especially during times where we feel so divided.” She joined the club soon after arriving at Trinity and became its president in 2025.
The Butterfly Network aims to create safe spaces amid mounting threats from the federal government. According to the American Immigration Council’s 2025 report, The Fight for Immigrant Students’ Education: Policies, Barriers, and What’s at Stake, threats such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, appearing at schools and new restrictions on in-state tuition are already affecting “student performance at school.”
The group’s activities range from complex discussions of financial aid and legal rights to lighter cultural celebrations, including Valentine’s Day meetups and Día de los Muertos altars.
In 2024, the Butterfly Network focused on creating community without knowing what federal policies might come next. By fall 2025 – with Trump emboldened and imposing a slate of tightening immigration restrictions – the group has stepped up its efforts. Leaders still emphasize building safe spaces but with a sharper focus on comforting and reassuring students.
In November 2024, the network held a “tea party event” to help undocumented students explore financial support options. Rosa Reyes, director of Dream Partnership at Trinity and the club’s staff adviser, invited Don Graham – former publisher and CEO of The Washington Post and the co-founder of TheDream.US, a major scholarship fund that supports undocumented immigrant students pursuing higher education – who explained that Dream scholarships cover all four years of tuition.
The Trump administration will not affect those guaranteed funds, Reyes recalled Graham saying at the event.
The American Immigration Council notes that “the fraught politics of immigration are creating new barriers for immigrant children and families in accessing both K-12 schooling and higher education,” including efforts in Texas, where lawmakers introduced nine bills to repeal in-state tuition and financial aid for undocumented students.
Trinity offers few additional options for undocumented students to pay for school. One is the Dream Peer Mentor program, in which three upper-level students each year receive a $2,000-per-semester stipend to mentor small groups of first-year students transitioning to college life.
Students may also apply for emergency assistance, including public transit passes, food support and limited housing help, according to Trinity’s website. The university’s food pantry is open to all students, regardless of immigration status.
After attending the tea party event, Lemus said she felt things were “gonna be okay.”
At the Oct. 1 interest meeting, a Trinity Times reporter observed colored pencils and markers laid out on a table while new students were introduced to the club. Music by Rauw Alejandro, Bad Bunny and other Latino artists played in the background.
“It looked like a very lively group,” Lemus said after the meeting.
On Feb. 13, 2024, Reyes organized a Know Your Rights event in cooperation with CARECEN, a D.C.-based organization that provides housing assistance and citizenship services to the local Latino community.
“There are certain rights you have in this country just for being a human being,” Reyes said.
Although the event took place just three weeks into Trump’s second term, Reyes told Trinity Times that the legal guidance has not changed. The rights of undocumented residents are the same, she said, “even if those rights aren’t being respected at the moment.”
Abigail Huh, a senior majoring in history and global affairs and the Butterfly Network’s vice president, said immigrant students were “more open about their status” when they first enrolled in fall 2023. With recent ICE crackdowns, students have become more “hesitant,” she said.
“I’m afraid to go out,” Lemus added.
Reyes said the group is adopting new precautions, such as designing flyers that obscure student faces.
Flor Meraz, a business administration major, described how frightening this period can be. “Our lives can change in a matter of seconds.”
Ingrid Velasquez, a first-year nursing student, agreed but took a more defiant stance, saying she refuses to personally fear the federal government because “fearing something simply attracts that thing.”
Two months after Trump took office, law students from American University visited Trinity to offer one-on-one consultations about immigration status. Reyes oversaw the event, organized in partnership with the Defending the AU Dream Initiative, which provides free immigration legal services to immigrant students enrolled in colleges across the D.C. region.
Trump’s second term is less than a year old, but with each passing week, his administration has grown more aggressive toward undocumented immigrants. The Butterfly Network may now be entering its most critical phase, as it works to support and comfort Trinity students who lack protected residency status.
On Dec. 5, Reyes and the Butterfly Network plan to host an event focused on Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, or ITINs. Obtaining an ITIN allows undocumented students to pay taxes legally, open bank accounts and apply for certain services, including housing and utilities.
Lemus said she is especially looking forward to the return of Across All Borders, an event held in March 2024 that united Trinity’s undocumented community through oral storytelling. She remembers the gathering as a place where students could share things they are often afraid to say aloud for “fear of being stigmatized.”
Lemus and Huh agreed that events celebrating student identity and culture are more important now than ever.
As immigrant tensions rise nationwide, the Butterfly Network continues to offer both practical resources and emotional refuge. Through community events and legal education, the group reminds students that they are seen, supported and safe.
“People are scared,” Lemus said. But at the Butterfly Network, “everybody is kind of going through the same thing.” The club “doesn’t judge,” she said, “because your status doesn’t define who you are.”