It was early on July 1, 2025, when federal immigration officers were spotted using a CSUDH parking lot as a staging area for an operation in the city of Carson. The agents left campus by 10 a.m., but their presence left some Toros feeling more than just unsettled.
The activity at CSUDH and other institutions prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign legislation that bars immigration officers from staging, mobilizing, or deploying on state-owned property.
But according to Scarlett Zamora, a CSUDH employee, the presence of federal agents on campus was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The next day, Zamora contacted the Harbor Area Peace Patrols (HAPP), a local community organization that informs residents of their rights and of immigration enforcement. The day after that, she started patrolling herself.
Most mornings on patrol start out around 6 a.m. If enough volunteers show up, Zamora said, the HAPP can cover San Pedro, Wilmington, and the greater Harbor area.
“When we’re out patrolling, we have a bag that has outreach material,” said Zamora, the zero waste coordinator at CSUDH. “We’re patrolling schools, markets, some job centers, and as we’re patrolling, we’re taking pictures of these areas and we’re clearing them.”
“Clearing” involves posting photos of areas where patrollers have checked for immigration enforcement activity. If they encounter a vehicle, Zamora explained, patrollers approach and attempt to verify whether its occupants are immigration officials.
If confirmed, patrollers use megaphones and whistles to alert the surrounding community, go door-to-door to inform residents of their rights and post updates on Instagram to spread awareness. Unfortunately, Zamora said, patrol teams sometimes arrive at scenes too late to warn residents.
“We had shown up to a car wash, and at the same time we showed up, three other unidentified vehicles full of masked men came out of the vehicle and kidnapped a community member from the car wash,” she said. “When that happens, we call that into Unión del Barrio, and then we have our own internal steps that we take to help identify the person and their family members to alert them what happened.”
The HAPP is not a rapid response network, Zamora clarified. If someone sees ICE activity off-campus, they can report it to Unión del Barrio by texting or calling a hotline.
For any enforcement activity at the university, CSUDH recommends that Toros contact the Campus Police Department.
Campus groups offer support to undocumented students
For more than two decades at CSUDH, one student group has organized to advocate for undocumented Toros. Espíritu de Nuestro Futuro (ENF) was founded in 2002 to support and represent such students by providing resources such as internships, scholarships, and employment opportunities.
Briana Diaz, ENF’s president, described the group to The Bulletin as “one big family.”
“We have that community bond, entre nosotros,” said Diaz, a junior education student. “I feel like we include other students during our events, we include them in our little community.”
According to Diaz, students have expressed concerns about how the university wants people to report ICE activity on campus. Diaz said students have also asked whether they should contact the Immigrant Justice Center (IJC) or other campus groups. She recommended students avoid places like Loker Student Union and instead go to classrooms where the doors could be closed.
Some students, Diaz said, are unlikely to wait around on campus until someone else confirms ICE’s presence. “If I hear something, I’m leaving.”
Another campus organization, the Undocumented Student Ally Coalition (USAC), also works to build support networks on campus. Founded in 2014, the group hosts workshops and “Know Your Rights” teach-ins with organizations like the HAPP.
The workshops explore the federal and state laws affecting the undocumented community. Participants are also asked to identify the ways in which they may be unintentionally excluding undocumented students.
“It’s beneficial for the students, I think, to also know that they’re not alone and that they have other community members that see them, that care for them, and that are here to support them too,” said Arlin Gonzalez, director of the IJC.
The IJC recently hosted an event commemorating 25 years since California adopted legislation ensuring nonresident students received in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.
Diaz said she has been “very pushy” in encouraging CSUDH staff and faculty to participate in USAC training. “[We] don’t assume status either, because we’re all human … Don’t be afraid to join something, and don’t be afraid to be yourself.”
Gonzalez echoed the importance of making those efforts visible, telling The Bulletin that undocumented students need to see and know which people on campus they can rely on as allies.
“You never know when a student is going through some sort of hardship, so sometimes the first person that they’ll be able to connect with is their professor,” Gonzalez said. “Maybe their parent was detained, or ICE was seen in their neighborhood, so they don’t feel comfortable coming to school—[having students] feeling comfortable to share can make the difference.”