Columbia offers illegal immigrant students free legal help, ‘stress management’
The school also assigns illegals who study abroad "travel monitors" who alert the school if the student has problems re-entering the country.
Columbia University offers a "stress management" service to illegal alien students.
Columbia University has taken a stance against President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement by promoting several resources to assist “undocumented” students in avoiding deportation and in their day-to-day lives.
On Thursday, the university made an announcement reminding illegal immigrant students of the resources provided to them by the school, amid anticipation of raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Columbia has long welcomed undocumented students and supported the DACA program. We will continue to make this support clear in court, in Washington D.C. and in our own community,” the school said in the news release.
[RELATED: NJ doles out $250,000 for law students to rep illegals in court]
Among the resources Columbia offers illegal alien students is a program that provides free legal representation to students and staff who are at “risk of deportation” or are “otherwise undocumented.” At no cost to the individual, the school also provides individual consultations with Columbia Law students, who then refer illegal students to pro-bono lawyers in order to ensure that they have legal representation to combat the possibility of deportation.
“Travel monitors” are also assigned to illegal immigrant students traveling internationally. These monitors will notify the school if an illegal student has issues upon trying to re-enter the country.
Columbia also provides these students with their own in-house “DACA/Undocumented Students Liason.”
[RELATED: UC Boulder labels ‘illegal alien’ a ‘problematic phrase’]
Associate Vice President for Student Life Ixchel Rosal fills this role by meeting with illegal immigrant students to “provide guidance or referrals” regarding legal, financial, admissions, health, housing, and “diversity and inclusion”-related issues. She also heads a university committee made up of students, faculty, and staff to “work to identify and develop initiatives that support DACA and undocumented students.”
In addition, illegal immigrant students, and any other students “concerned about immigration policies affecting DACA and undocumented students” are invited to join a support group through the campus health facility in order to assist with “stress management.”
After Trump’s election in 2016, Columbia capitulated to student demands that it become a “sanctuary campus,” vowing not to cooperate with any federal immigration efforts. At the time, Provost John Coatsworth promised that the school would “neither allow immigration officials on our campus without a warrant, nor share information on the immigration status of undocumented students with those officials unless required by subpoena or court order.”
[RELATED: Columbia pledges to shelter illegal immigrants from Trump]
Campus Reform reached out to Columbia for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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