By The Lumberjack Editorial Board
Undocumented students have a right to an education and a safe place to foster that education. Students shouldn’t have to worry about being prejudicially profiled and deported. The new Trump administration’s policy on immigration is threatening to do just that.Fear for the well-being of our undocumented students has existed at HSU throughout Trump’s campaign and has only increased since his inauguration.
President Rossbacher released a statement Jan. 31. Reassuring the HSU community that the administration stands in support with our undocumented students and is exploring options, but with our cities of sanctuary under fire we want to know what concrete actions HSU can take in protecting our community.
Trump’s executive order, Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, threatens sanctuary cities and school campuses. The order states that sanctuary jurisdiction ‘willfully violates Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens. Under the new administration, any place maintaining sanctuary status is to be denounced. Punishment for not cooperating with this directive is the removal of federal funding.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, introduced legislation that extends this consequence to sanctuary campuses that do not work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.This affects University federal funding through the financial aid program and student loan debt forgiveness. The law calls for 100 percent compliance with federal immigration requests.
If the threat of the withdrawal of funds is credible, how does HSU plan to take care of not only the undocumented students but students who can’t handle the fiscal burden this executive order could levy?
Hearing the words of support from administration is always comforting. Undocumented students only want the opportunity of higher education and a chance to make their way just like American citizens. This attempt to create a safe haven is more than appealing but under federal law, what are our real options? The Lumberjack urges HSU’s administration to do more in the way of making our student community feel safe and secure during their time at HSU.
