Student and faculty activists argue that colleges and universities should call themselves “sanctuary campuses,” a label that they say would help underscore institutional commitment to supporting undocumented students in a time when the future of immigration in the U.S. seems all the more uncertain.
“Declaring Harvard University as a sanctuary campus is more than a symbolic gesture, as it is a necessary step in reaffirming the University’s commitment to undocumented students and students from mixed-status families,” Harvard student organizers with the student group Protect Undocumented Students at Harvard (PUSH) wrote in a November op-ed in the Harvard Crimson.
Despite similar demands from students and faculty across the country, with a few exceptions, college leaders are not embracing the sanctuary campus label. In numerous public statements and letters, they argue that, unlike a sanctuary city, the concept of a sanctuary campus has no basis in law and that, ultimately, institutions will be required to follow immigration laws.
“I think many college leaders are probably concerned about what a new administration might do in terms of federal funding, which can get really tricky and complicated,” said Phillip Torrey, lecturer on law with the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program and the Supervising Attorney for the Harvard Immigration Project. “There are also concerns that by labeling their university a sanctuary campus there will be a bullseye on the university for targeted enforcement.”
“Both of those things remain to be seen,” he added. “It’s just sort of impossible to guess what the incoming administration might do.”
President-elect Donald Trump has vacillated on his position on policies protecting undocumented youth, such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA is an executive order signed by President Obama that permits individuals who were brought to the U.S. as minors to apply for a two-year work permit and eligibility to attend college.
