By Francesca Billington, Correspondent
Following the student-led walkout two weeks ago, Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber released a statement that the university will continue to support students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status but will not label itself a sanctuary campus.
After consulting with immigration lawyers, Princeton was advised that becoming a sanctuary campus could be counterproductive and put DACA students at greater risk, as “colleges and universities have no authority to exempt any part of their campuses from the nation’s immigration laws,” President Eisgruber wrote in a school-wide email he sent on Monday afternoon.
Mr. Eisgruber affirmed that Princeton has consistently supported DACA, adding that he has joined a group of more than 100 college and university presidents who released a statement supporting DACA.
“Our efforts will be aided by policies already in place to protect the privacy and safety of every member of the University community,” Mr. Eisgruber wrote in the statement.
This includes refusing to disclose personal information about university members to law enforcement officers unless required, as well as providing students with resources and support for issues pertaining to immigration.
The Princeton DREAM Team, the immigrant rights advocacy group that led the walkout, released a statement on Nov. 29 in response to Mr. Eisgruber’s email. The group clarified that it did not intend for Princeton to put itself in a legal position superior to the rule of law. Instead, DREAM Team members intended that the commitment “extend to protect both those under DACA and those who are not, yet face imminent threats of deportation.”
The statement also urged Mr. Eisgruber and the Princeton community to actively commit to protecting these undocumented and DACA status students beyond what they promise in words.
“Many of us will never fully comprehend what it is like to live undocumented in this country, but failure to fully comprehend does not mean we should remain complacent,” the DREAM Team statement said.
DREAM Team member Marlyn Bruno said she was shocked that Mr. Eisgruber sent out an email to the Princeton community, “given the fact that he does not have the best track record in being transparent and actually responding to campus concerns.”
Mr. Eisgruber stating that Princeton cannot be a sanctuary campus changes nothing, Ms. Bruno said. Students will continue to focus on the other portions of the original petition that the university can take action for.
“Personally, I really hope the university’s motto, ‘In the nation’s service and in the service of all humanity’ will not be reduced to a concrete engraving in front of Nassau Hall,” Ms. Bruno said. “Like our official released statement brings up, acknowledging support is not enough. The university needs to be active in its commitment to protect undocumented students.”
The DREAM Team invites students and faculty interested in helping the group continue its momentum to attend the next meeting on Thursday in Frist Center.
