Students, faculty urge UCs to safeguard undocumented immigrants

UCLA faculty and students want to make the university a sanctuary campus for minority groups, including undocumented students.

Lauren Duquette-Rury, assistant professor of sociology, penned a letter to the University of California Academic Senate that calls for the University to establish legal services for undocumented students and staff, and denounce hate speech towards all groups on campus.

The letter also calls for continued support and protection of all workers and students, and continued non-cooperation between UCPD and federal immigration authorities.

President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to deport up to 3 million immigrants during his presidency. After the election results, thousands of students voiced their concerns through protests about how a Trump presidency may increase marginalization of minority groups.

“We have to recognize that an attack on our students and employees and their families is an attack on UCLA,” Duquette-Rury said. “This is an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is.”

With the help of other faculty, Duquette-Rury’s letter has collected more than 800 signatures since it was published Wednesday afternoon.

[Letter: Faculty members pledge to stand against hate in election aftermath]

Student Regent-designate Paul Monge also held a conference call Monday with undocumented student leaders to discuss how the UC campuses can be made sanctuaries for students and what resources are available to undocumented students.

“There was lots of energy to protect the undocumented community,” Monge said.

He added the UCs should institute strict guidelines that don’t require students to share private information with the federal government.

“Most students are already protected by (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), but I think it’s helpful to define policy as it applies specifically to undocumented students,” Monge said.

FERPA allows students to personally access, amend and control access by others to their educational and personal information records.

According to a newsletter this week from the Undocumented Students Program, or USP, there are meditation spaces, attorney drop-in hours, and Counseling and Psychological Services programs available to students who are potentially affected by changes to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, and other U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services programs.

Paulo Suarez, an undocumented fourth-year anthropology student, said he is concerned about the potential lack of resources for undocumented students in the future if the UC Office of the President does not pay more attention to undocumented student programs.

“I am afraid, but I think with the elections, it’s a growing fear and also a growing exhilaration for the changes that may come, including more activism,” he said.

Suarez said he wished the USP would offer more support to the undocumented community than they are currently able to provide, and he blames the organization’s shortcomings on limited funding from UCOP.

“I personally feel like the response is going to be like, ‘We’re here for you, but we can’t really do much,’ and I feel like that’s the attitude throughout all the UC campuses,” Suarez said.

[Related: UC to allocate $8.4M annually to support undocumented students]

Suarez is part of Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Success, an organization that advocates for undocumented students. IDEAS is lobbying UCOP for increased funding for programs that can benefit undocumented students.

At the UC Regents meeting Wednesday, UC President Janet Napolitano said she would meet with undocumented student coordinators across the UCs. She added she formed a task force to protect undocumented students from Trump’s potential immigration policies. The day after Trump was elected, President Napolitano and the 10 UC chancellors released a statement that reaffirmed a commitment to diversity and inclusion across all UC campuses.

“We have formed a working group to work through DACA and other immigration issues as they affect our students and our campuses,” Napolitano said.

Duquette-Rury said she wants UCLA to be ahead of the curve in assisting undocumented students by coordinating with other universities on programs and support.

She also said that although it is possible Trump might not enforce the policies he advertised during his campaign, she does not believe it is likely.

“We only know what they say they’re going to do and then what they’re actually going to do,” she said of Trump’s deportation plan. “Our students and their families are already feeling the hate and belligerence.”

Duquette-Rury said she will submit her letter to the UC Academic Senate in the coming weeks.