Declaring Dominican University a Sanctuary Campus

My university, Dominican University, has declared itself a sanctuary campus. We have a long history as a national leader in supporting the rights of undocumented students to access higher education, including regular fund-raising to make that possible. In 2014 I wrote:

Over the last few years at my Roman Catholic university, we have begun to act, both admitting and financially supporting undocumented students. It may seem risky, but as Donna Carroll, our president at Dominican University, always says, "It’s the right thing to do."

I saw our position around these issues as the strength of both being small (so a single act of leadership can really change course) and mission driven. I wrote:

Catholic colleges must commit to a core and challenging set of beliefs, but they do get to choose what to emphasize and where to concentrate resources. At their best, faced with the same financial pressures as all other institutions, Catholic colleges and universities have a mission that allows them to make arguments about justice, even ones that might risk alienating donors of particular political ideologies or even running counter to ideas held by some within the church. Dominican University provided health care to domestic partners for same-sex couples years ago because the universal right to health care, part of the dignity of the person, trumped other concerns. As Donna Carroll notes, "As the infrastructure of higher education become more and more like a business, it’s harder to take a stand that may compromise the business." Commitment to mission allows you to take such stands because they are right, not because they are wise.

Of course, such a position is also fiscally wise. We are a majority Latinx institution. We need to listen to and serve our core community.

Here's a link to the full statement of declaring Dominican a Sanctuary Campus.

Key passages:

BE IT RESOLVED, that Dominican University commits to a campus climate and an academic experience that promote the security and well-being of all persons, especially those who are underrepresented and struggling for voice and opportunity. To that end, as directed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the university will not provide access to student information, including any records that identify immigration status, except as required by federal, state or local laws, and only in the presence of formal documentation.
FURTHER, we affirm and will advance, to the extent possible, the 2011 Ruling by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which notes that law enforcement and ICE officials should enter the campus for law enforcement purposes without the permission of the university only under the most exigent and compelling circumstances.
FURTHER STILL, the university will continue to support undocumented students --- to promote academic access and success, provide financial aid, as possible, and ensure that Dominican University is a welcoming and safe environment for all, regardless of background.

I don't know if such declarations make a difference (though the money obviously does). What I do know is that it's the right thing to do and we all need to practice taking moral public positions, as the next few years will test us in that regard.

Resource: American Universities and Undocumented Students

I'm writing a piece on the ways that Catholic Colleges and Universities, especially my own, are helping undocumented students. The help comes in three ways: Money for tuition/expenses, changing discourse, and political action. What I'm really interested in for this piece is the link between mission and policy changes.

One piece that has emerged is terminology

• Some universities use the term "Dreamers," referring to students who are advocating for the DREAM act. A typical dreamer came to this country as a child, often as a very young child.
• More universities use the term "undocumented," and the students to whom I have spoken use that language to describe themselves most commonly. 
• There are still places that endorse "illegal." In fact, yesterday the USA - Undocumented Students and Allies met at Illinois Institute of Technology to demand an end to such terminology and to publicly ask for a meeting with the higher administration to talk about undocumented students at IIT. That said, I also know there are people at IIT who have been working on this topic for a long time. I'd need to do more reporting to figure out what's going on there (and it's not the focus of this piece).

Related to terminology, I have found both in interviews and in reading/listening to undocumented students the adoption of the language of "coming out" about their status. It's an interesting turn of phrase because, of course, sexuality is a very different kind of identity statement. People who are undocumented would like to change their status, but I think coming out is appropriate - it's about being open about with one's identity and fighting stigma and exploitation. It also enables the language of allies, offering a clear role to people who are documented but who want to fight for equality here. Perhaps most importantly, it places undocumented students into the category of diversity. 

Diversity is something that universities try very hard to improve. Diversity has an office. Sometimes a Chief Diversity Officer, too! It has committees. It has budgets. Maybe not big budgets, but budgets none the less. So making undocumented about diversity and status has, I think, helped the issue find traction in academic institutions.

Here are some resources:

• Mega-resource: Get Me To College's Guide to Financial Aid for Undocumented Students

I haven't verified most of these statements here, and the formatting is weird, but what I find interesting is the schools that use "international" student as the way to accept undocumented students. 

• A nice summary of Plyer vs Doe, the 1982 Supreme Court decision that children could not be denied education based on their immigration status.
• Northern Illinois University materials for Undocumented Students - People in the know tell me that NIU was very much out in front of this. I'm writing about the Catholics, but credit where it is due.
• Choose Your Future - Page on undocumented students and college.
• DePaul's DREAM resource guide.
• Undocumented Student Resources from the Diversity Office at Loyola
• Illinois College Counseling Page on undocumented students.
• ACC&U "action plan" on immigration.
• Major study at Fairfield university on undocumented students and Jesuit schools.
• Illinois Dream Fund - Providing funds for IL dreamers for college.
• Letter from private and public college presidents supporting the Dream Act (Northeastern Il, U of I, Roosevelt, Loyola, DePaul, Dominican)

Dominican Resources

• Chicago Tribune - 2/11/14 - Dominican receives moral courage award
• USA Today - 5/8/2012 - Colleges look at at policies for illegal immigrants [NOTE TITLE LANGUAGE]

For students at Dominican, the word is out. "When undocumented students apply to a school it's because they've already heard that it's welcoming," says freshman Arianna Salgado, 19, an undocumented student who was born in Mexico and has lived in the USA since age 6. "It makes you really comfortable with the whole application process."

I also interviewed Salgado for my piece.

• CNN Interview with Donna Carroll - 2/1/12 - Video, Transcript of followup discussion.

There's more, but this is a good start. And no, no one is trying to sue us about it.

More to come on this. Do you know your university's position? Let me know.