As the United States moves deeper into 2026, the political climate feels unsettled in ways that go beyond normal election-year turbulence. Public trust in institutions is eroding, federal agencies are shifting direction, and civil liberties concerns are rising, all while the country heads into a midterm season viewed by analysts as one of the most consequential in recent history.
For students at Delta College, these national shifts are not theoretical. They shape access to federal financial aid, determine the stability of immigrant families, and influence the conditions under which faculty and staff teach, and according to political science experts at Delta, the combination of weakened institutions and heightened enforcement has created a political moment that students cannot afford to ignore.
A decline in institutional confidence
One trend is unmistakable: Americans are losing trust in their political institutions.
According to Gallup’s latest surveys, public confidence in major institutions remains near historic lows. As of mid-2025, only about 29 percent of Americans say they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in Congress, a steep drop from the early 2000s, when that figure was closer to 40 percent. Confidence in the Supreme Court has also declined sharply, falling from around 50 percent in 2001 to the mid-30s today, while trust in the presidency has hovered around 30 percent for much of the past decade.
Pew Research Center data shows a similar trajectory: overall trust in the federal government to “do what is right most of the time” has slipped to about 17 percent in 2025, down from roughly 44 percent in 2003 and about 24 percent in 2015. The decline underscores a long-term erosion of institutional confidence rather than a sudden shift.
Blank said this moment reflects a deeper structural problem.
“You’re seeing the checks and balances aren’t working the way they’re supposed to,” he said, describing a Congress that has grown increasingly reluctant to assert oversight.
Blank added that the shift is not driven by a single branch of government but by a broader pattern of weakened accountability.
“The system can still function,” he said, “but when people stop believing it’s accountable to them, that’s where democracy gets shaky.”
Experts note that concerns intensified in 2024 when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling in Trump v. United States that presidents and former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts conducted while in office, a decision widely seen as reshaping limits on executive accountability.
“That immunity decision absolutely shocked judicial conservatives,” Dr. Joel Blank, co-chair of Delta’s Political Science department said, adding that the ruling signaled a shift in how the Court interprets executive authority.
Civil liberties concerns rise
Federal immigration enforcement has sharply intensified in recent weeks, particularly in Minneapolis, where a large federal operation known as “Operation Metro Surge” deployed thousands of agents to the Twin Cities and drew sharp criticism after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti during enforcement actions.
“In the last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles, and incredibly dangerous individuals. A huge victory for public safety,” Secretary of Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a Jan. 19 press release.
Civil rights groups including the ACLU, its Minnesota affiliate, and local advocacy organizations have condemned the operations as “dangerous” and called for independent investigations and accountability, warning that aggressive tactics and lack of federal oversight undermine public safety and constitutional protections.
Dr. Cirian Villavicencio, co-chair of Delta’s Political Science department, said these trends are not isolated to undocumented immigrants.
“Immigration enforcement is affecting more than just undocumented students,” he said. “It impacts mixed-status families.”
He noted that even students who are U.S. citizens often carry the stress of knowing that parents, siblings or relatives could be targeted. That climate, he said, directly influences academic performance, enrollment decisions and mental health.
“When families are scared,” Villavicencio explained, “students stop showing up. They stop enrolling. They focus on survival.”
A 2024 report by the Presidents Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration estimates that 408,000 undocumented students are enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities, with community colleges serving as the primary entry point for many. In California — home to the largest undocumented student population in the nation — federal enforcement actions ripple through classrooms in real time.
Education policy in flux
National political shifts are also reshaping the landscape of higher education.
Villavicencio pointed to ongoing disruption inside the U.S. Department of Education, where the agency has been undergoing significant shrinkage and reorganization as part of broader federal policy shifts.
In March 2025, the department announced a major reduction in force that cut nearly half of its workforce, a move officials said was meant to streamline operations but that critics argue undermines federal oversight and capacity. Since then, the Education Department has begun moving some of its core grant programs and administrative functions to other federal agencies as part of an effort described by the administration as “breaking up the federal education bureaucracy,” raising concerns among education leaders about continuity, expertise and accountability in delivering federal support to schools and colleges.
“The federal Department of Education has been gutted,” he said, explaining that funding streams essential to community colleges are now stalled or uncertain.
One example is Delta’s federally funded AANAPISI (Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions) grant, which has been frozen amid ongoing litigation over federal higher-education programs, leaving student services and support programs like EPIC “in limbo” until the case is resolved.
“Our AANAPISI grant is frozen,” he said. “Even with the lower court ruling in our favor, we still can’t access the money.”
He added that proposed changes to Pell Grant eligibility — including a push to require 30 credits per year to receive the full award — would pose a real barrier for students who work, care for family members or attend part-time.
According to a May 2025 letter from the American Association of Community Colleges to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Pell Grant changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could significantly harm community college students nationwide.
David Baime, AACC’s senior vice president for government relations, warned that the new credit requirements would “make it extremely difficult for thousands of working students to continue to enroll in community college.”
Baime added that the risk of students stopping out is real because “we are, by definition, talking about the lowest-income students on our campuses.”
These pressures, combined with federal uncertainty, create what Villavicencio described as a “trickle-down effect” that directly impacts Delta students.
Why students matter in this moment
Despite the turbulence, both Blank and Villavicencio emphasized one clear point: students have power.
Blank said local political outcomes often hinge on young voters far more than they realize. He pointed to Measure K, the 2024 facilities bond, as an example of what student mobilization can accomplish.
“Measure K passed because the students promoted it,” Blank said. “Students have a lot of power. They may not realize it, but they do.”
That influence carries extra weight in San Joaquin County, where turnout is modest even in major election years. Only 34.9 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the 2024 presidential primary, and just 70.7 percent turned out for the 2024 general election, according to county election results — meaning close races are often decided by slim margins.
“Elections are being decided by a couple hundred votes,” Villavicencio said. “Students come out and vote in great numbers, they’re the difference.”
Both professors said that in a political moment defined by uncertainty, student civic engagement matters more than ever.
“If students don’t vote, someone else is going to make those decisions for them,” Blank said.
