Several student organizations called for Boston University to declare itself a “sanctuary campus” on Monday, following the recent detainments and deportations of U.S. Visa and green card holders.
The call is part of an effort to protect students from federal overreach, regardless of immigration status, according to a joint Instagram statement by the Young Democratic Socialists of America at BU, BU Students for Justice in Palestine, Alianza Latina BU and BU Prison Outreach Initiative.
“We will not rest until we can ensure the safety of our community,” the post reads.
Nina Gulbransen, president of BU College Democrats, wrote in a statement to The Daily Free Press that calls for a sanctuary campus are in response to “unjust cases of detainment” of immigrant and Hispanic students and citizens across Massachusetts.
“The detainment of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts [University] graduate student, has brought this issue to our doorstep,” Gulbransen wrote. “BU should act promptly to ensure that no unjust detainments and encroachments of the federal government occur on our campus, to our students.”
BU College Democrats announced its support for a sanctuary campus in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
“Boston University is committed to the safety and security of all members of our community,” BU Spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press.
Riley wrote that BU’s Safety, Security & Preparedness website provides information on what students should do if approached by officers seeking immigration details and affirms the BU Police Department does not enforce federal immigration law.
Philip Wohltorf, newly elected vice president of BU College Republicans, said he believes the University will not accept demands to be made a sanctuary campus, for fear of losing federal funding.
“If BU now decides to become a sanctuary campus, I believe that the Trump administration would withdraw all the federal funding, which would then hurt research and all the other things,” Wohltorf said. “We just saw Columbia [University] losing $400 million.”
The student groups called BU to mandate training for all staff and employees, to recognize the difference between an administrative and judicial warrant. The post also called for discipline of “any university employee who reports a student, staff, or faculty member to federal immigration authorities,” including the termination of professors without tenure.
In a 2016 letter, former BU President Robert Brown announced BU “will not share information about any undocumented students with immigration authorities unless those authorities have a subpoena or a warrant,” in response to a student petition that garnered more than 2000 signatures.
Wohltorf said he believes sanctuary policies violate immigration law.
“Instead of prioritizing student safety, these policies would only shield undocumented lawbreakers from being sent to their countries or being sent to prison,” Wohltorf said.
