Student Loan Payments To ICE Agents: Unpacking Trump’s “Big, Disastrous Bill”

Two activists arrested in the fight against Trump’s landmark legislation discuss the bill’s consequences, from student debt to immigration raids.

By Maximillian Alvarez, In These Times

Dozens of peaceful protesters, including people in wheelchairs, were arrested on Wednesday, June 25 in Washington, D.C. while protesting President Donald Trump’s massive spending bill, which passed Congress July 3 and was signed into law on Independence Day. The legislation will dramatically slash taxes on the wealthy, impose harsher repayment plans for student loan debt, make devastating cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and allocate more funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — just to name a few of its components.

Before the bill passed, Working People spoke with two activists who were among those arrested in D.C. about the bill and how working people are fighting back. Lorraine Chavez is an educator, researcher and community leader based in Chicago. Christine Rodriguez is a legal assistant from Pasadena, California. Both came to D.C. with the Debt Collective, a union of debtors. ​“The ​‘Big, Disastrous Bill’ … intertwines all of the things that I’ve gone through,” Rodriguez said, ​“Let the record show that I do not want my student loan forgiveness money to be funding ICE.”

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. 

Maximillian Alvarez: Lorraine and Christine, what brought you to D.C.?

Lorraine Chavez: I came to D.C. having followed the Debt Collective for a number of years, because I have student loan debt that I have no capacity to pay. I’m a single mother. I put my twins, both 33, through college. So I didn’t mind getting arrested. I was really thrilled to be with all these other advocates from all over the country.

Christine Rodriguez: I went up to advocate for student loan forgiveness. I graduated from University of California Los Angeles School of Law with a Masters of Legal Studies last year. I am really banking on loan forgiveness, some sort of repayment plan. The ​“Big, Disastrous Bill” that Trump [has now passed] intertwines all of the things that I’ve gone through. It takes away opportunities for people to have part of their loan forgiven. It also affects people who want to get an education, increasing the limits of Pell Grants, which helped me when I was in undergrad. On top of this, all these tax cuts are going to allocate funding for increased military. I live near Los Angeles, and I have definitely seen a heavier military presence with the Marines coming in.

Alvarez: What was it like being in D.C. with folks and getting arrested?

Rodriguez: Reflecting back on that day, three words come to mind. One is coordinated. Another is organized — not just the Debt Collective, but a whole coalition of folks. At our training for the day that morning, we had a dress rehearsal. They gave us the money for our bail because they had done this so many times that they know the system. The last word is supportive. We had this team that’s getting arrested. But we also had a team who were not getting arrested, who were outside of the building recording, who were following us in the jail transport. Then when we got out, I saw my folks right across the street. They had pizza for us and they were clapping.

Before this, at the training, we all went around the room and introduced ourselves and why we’re here. I came in for student loan forgiveness, but just in that introduction round, I had now become a part of folks who are fighting for Medicaid, fighting for SNAP.

Our press conference was really just a big rally in the Senate building. When we got to the rotunda to have our action, there was already a lot of police presence.

Chavez: The police were swarming over the place. We were a peaceful group of demonstrators exercising our First Amendment rights. There must have been a policeman or woman for every single one of us that was there. It was ridiculous, and also terrifying. There was an enormous crowd and an enormous group of protesters in wheelchairs. It was a really dangerous situation, given the heat and the fact that there was no air conditioning in the police vans or in the holding center.

Alvarez: This bill is the entire package to provide funding for Trump’s agenda. It includes all these different policies that you can’t help but see as connected. The very same bill is going to provide billions of dollars to hire 10,000 more ICE [deportation agents], which would boost the agency’s ranks by around 50%. What does it mean to you that your future as a student debtor is going to be made more difficult in order to pay for things like more ICE to terrorize our communities and bigger tax cuts for the rich?

Chavez: This is a dire crisis on all levels, certainly for immigrants who are being rounded up and deported, and for those of us who will not be able to pay our student loans, those of us who are in medical crisis and will not have medical care. And I do believe that that is part of the Trump agenda. They don’t care if people die. There’s a word for it — it’s called necropolitics, and I think that’s exactly the world that we’re in right now.

Rodriguez: Let the record show that I do not want my student loan forgiveness money to be funding ICE. My community in Pasadena, just two weeks ago, experienced two raids within a week. That’s happening right in my backyard. That was a big reason why I wanted to be a part of this action. What can I do when my wages start to get garnished because I can’t pay my student loans? That money will still be going to fund bullets and gas for ICE agents to continue doing this atrocious work.

It’s the opposite that should be happening. We should be giving more money to Medicaid. We should be giving more money to food stamps. People are barely getting by, and this is their one lifeline that could be cut.

But every day is a new opportunity to connect with other folks and get creative to disrupt the system. I truly believe that what is going on can’t sustain itself for that long. I noticed that the officers that arrested us were getting on-the-spot training. It’s a lot of high turnover from the police force. How does it feel to be a young man and arrest a little old lady who’s protesting for Medicaid? That probably doesn’t sit right. I think eventually everybody’s going to get sick of the norm. We’re going to have to get a little bit uncomfortable at some times. We’re going to have to get arrested and be in the back of a very hot van. But everyday actions can really help to pick at an already weak system.

Alvarez: What’s your message to folks out about the ways they can get involved?

Chavez: I have been attending a bunch of local meetings in Chicago. I am also committed to work on the question of student debt relief, and to work with Debt Collective folks in Chicago. I am hopeful, based on what I see.

Rodriguez: Step one, talk to your neighbors, especially if you live in an immigrant community. We have to watch out for each other, because we’re seeing that the police are not going to intervene and help us when there’s ICE raids going on. That means getting neighbors’ names, an emergency contact number. If you ever see anything like a raid, you can check in on that person. We have to be our own networks, and a lot of that takes just talking to strangers. Lorraine was a stranger a week ago, and now we’re buddies for life, because we had this amazing experience.

Definitely be involved in your local politics. If there’s some sort of city council or town hall that you could sit in, go. It gets really boring sometimes, but sometimes there’s a lot of drama. The real reality show is at your city council meeting. They’re making big decisions sometimes. It could really push you to be more involved.