Colleges brace to shield students from immigration raids

Ianus · Ianus

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2...aids/96968540/

Quote:

Colleges and universities around the country are preparing to defend their students from potential immigration raids under President Trump, but it's unclear how much power they actually have to shield their students.

School administrators have issued a range of pronouncements to assure their undocumented immigrant students that they won't help Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents track them down on their grounds.

New York University, Portland State University and the University of Pennsylvania are among colleges that have embraced the "sanctuary" moniker and declared that ICE agents will need a court order to step foot onto their campuses. The University of Miami School of Law is providing free, confidential legal consultations to its students, and Arizona State University is offering free counseling to those stressed out over their status.

Others, like Princeton University and Syracuse University, have been more hesitant. They don't embrace the "sanctuary" label, and while their administrators say they will do what they can to protect students, they have warned students that their schools must comply with federal immigration laws.

Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said the range of options shows what a difficult line school administrations are walking.

"Some of these statements are symbolic resolutions of welcoming, but some of them have teeth," Rodriguez said. "The community leaders — not just elected officials, but university presidents — need to be much bolder in calling for these protection policies."

The sanctuary policies, which mirror those enacted by many states and churches around the country, were a direct response to Trump's vows on the campaign trail to dramatically increase immigration enforcement. On Wednesday, he started to make good on those promises by calling for a massive increase in deportations, 10,000 new ICE agents and revival of a federal program that deputizes local police officers to enforce immigration laws.

Still, the Trump administration has not said it will specifically target young undocumented immigrants attending colleges and universities, including the 750,000 young undocumented immigrants who were granted deportation protections under President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA.

Trump said during a speech at the Department of Homeland Security that he would focus deportations instead on undocumented immigrants who have criminal records or pose a threat to the country. When asked about the future of DACA recipients on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said of Trump: "He's a family man, he has a huge heart and he understand the significance of this problem."

ICE also has a standing policy that its agents should avoid conducting operations at "sensitive locations," such as schools, churches and hospitals, unless the situation is serious enough and the agent has been given approval by superiors. On Monday, ICE spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea said that policy remains in effect.

The Department of Homeland Security "is committed to ensuring that people seeking to participate in activities or utilize services provided at any sensitive location are free to do so without fear or hesitation," she said.

DACA recipients say that gives them little comfort.

Roberto Benavides, 27, is studying mechanical engineering at Miami Dade College. The Peru native, who first received DACA protection in 2013, said those temporary assurances don't make up for the harsh, anti-immigrant rhetoric he heard from Trump during the presidential campaign.

"We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, we don't know what's going to happen for the next four years," Benavides said. "The presidents of all the universities here in South Florida have been very vocal supporting us. But we're very worried that President Trump will use executive powers to get the information on all of us and round us up."

There is reason for concern. Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower levels of immigration, doubts that the Trump administration would specifically target college campuses to round up DACA recipients.

"(ICE) is not going to be walking through the library dragging people out or grabbing people in the dining hall," she said. "That's why I think this sanctuary campus movement is a little bit on the hysterical side."

But Vaughan, who has advised the Trump administration on its immigration enforcement options, said there are individual cases where ICE could be forced to grab people on campus. She said many undocumented immigrants were granted DACA despite having checkered criminal histories. And she said there are others who have committed crimes since gaining their protected status who could be targeted.

And on Wednesday, two executive orders signed by Trump make clear that any undocumented immigrant in the U.S. is a potential target for deportation. The orders say that no undocumented immigrant, or any "classes or categories" of them, would be protected.

"DACA should not be a free pass," Vaughan said.

Sudo · Sudo

If trump doesn't target dreamers or our parents, then what is the use of sanctuary campuses or cities? Are we trying to protect undocumented with convictions?

EdoIsa · EdoIsa

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sudo

If trump doesn't target dreamers or our parents, then what is the use of sanctuary campuses or cities? Are we trying to protect undocumented with convictions?

Who said he's not? Nothing is sure at this point so seeing any kind of support before shit hits the fan is amazing.

Sudo · Sudo

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdoIsa

Who said he's not? Nothing is sure at this point so seeing any kind of support before shit hits the fan is amazing.

I'm speaking hypothetically.

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Colleges brace to shield students from immigration raids