American University students vote to protect illegal immigrants on campus: 'Sanctuary campus'
American University could designate its campus a “sanctuary campus.”
The university’s student government seeks to ban ICE from campus.
American University’s student body passed a referendum aimed at protecting illegal immigrant students at the university, which would also urge its campus to become a “sanctuary campus.”
According to the resolution the student body will call on the university to protect the identities of undocumented students if persecuted by federal authorities, as well as banning ICE from school grounds, unless challenged by a judicial warrant. It passed earlier in March, according to The Eagle.
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“Should AU become a sanctuary campus, and adopt policies to protect students, staff and faculty from deportation and threat from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)” the referendum states.
Specific actions mentioned in the referendum is a proposed policy to prohibit the university from collecting citizenship information from the university community.
Other proposed policies state that the university must protect in confidentiality all student, staff and faculty identities and restrict any on campus appearance from ICE unless opposed by a judge’s order.
The referendum then calls for the university’s administration to defy federal mandates and proceed with financially supporting legal support for “undocumented students” in the greater Washington DC area, commonly referred to as the DMV.
“WHEREAS American University continues to support and fund the AU dream initiative to provide legal consolations and legal representations for undocumented students in any institutions in the DMV,” the resolution states.
Despite not responding to Campus Reform’s multiple requests for comment on whether the university will adopt the resolution if approved by the student body, on February 6th, 2025, the university’s president Jonathan Alger, sent students an email titled Addressing Federal Executive Orders and Policy Actions, which stated that the university will stand behind students and support their academic and research mission despite federal directives jeopardizing them.
“Across the university we are navigating the wide array of issues and analyzing still-emerging details of the actions, which affect areas ranging from immigration to federal research funding to different types of inclusivity efforts. While answers may not always be immediately available, we are supporting our students, faculty and staff and moving our educational and research mission forward as we address these matters,” Alger wrote.
American University is not the first institution to adopt a resolution to protect undocumented students, staff and faculty and designate its campus as a “sanctuary campus.”
During President Trump’s first term, seven colleges, including the University of Pennsylvania and Portland State University, adopted similar proposals.
Campus Reform has contacted American University and the university’s student government for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
