While Penn has yet to make an official statement on how it will respond to President Donald Trump’s new immigration policies, groups on campus are preparing for how Trump’s agenda may affect students.
In November 2016, shortly before the 1968 Wharton graduate took office for his first term, then-Penn President Amy Gutmann announced that Penn would be a “sanctuary” for undocumented students, and that the University would not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids to take place on campus. As Trump begins his second term, Penn has not issued a similar statement.
Earlier this month, Trump announced a reversal of a policy that previously declared "sensitive locations" such as schools, churches, hospitals, colleges, funerals, and rallies, off-limits for ICE raids.
"This action empowers the brave men and women in [Customs and Border Protection] and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson wrote in a statement. "The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense."
"I know everyone is afraid, and everyone is highly critical of Penn for not doing anything about it or publicly supporting their undocumented and immigrant population," a Penn for Immigrant Rights Executive Board Member — who requested anonymity for personal safety concerns — told The Daily Pennsylvanian.
The member added that many of her fellow board members felt as though Trump’s status as a Penn alum “became a little more important [to the University] than the students" and added that they believe a lack of preparation on the part of Penn may cause the situation to become “chaotic.”
PIR has hosted two ‘Know Your Rights’ workshops in partnership with the Penn United Minorities Council and the Greenfield Intercultural Center. According to the PIR Executive Board Member, PIR has also received an “increasingly large number” of requests for resources and information throughout the past month.
In a written statement to the DP, the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies said that they have "always been a welcoming place for the Penn community to gather and explore ways to study and address the most pressing challenges Latin American and Latinx cultures and populations face, including immigration."
"We will continue supporting our affiliated faculty and students in achieving this mission," the Center wrote.
Both CLALS and La Casa Latina have collaborated with PIR in hosting the ‘Know Your Rights’ workshops.
A spokesperson for the Division of University Life — which oversees cultural spaces on campus such as La Casa Latina — wrote to the DP that it "remains committed to supporting all student communities and their sense of belonging on campus."
"Our Cultural Resource Centers will continue offering resources, programming, and space so that every Penn student feels supported and valued," the spokesperson wrote.
While certain groups and organizations around campus have been outspoken about their support for undocumented students, the PIR Executive Board Member said they feel as though “the general sentiments that [she’s] been getting from very big groups, clubs and departments around Penn has been that they're going to stay quiet.”
In addition to her November 2016 email, Gutmann also called Trump's executive orders on immigration during his first term "injurious to our work and inimical to our values" in a letter sent in January 2017 to the Penn community.
"Immigration strengthens the fabric of this nation and our University. Immigrants spark innovation, launch new businesses, and enrich our culture and arts. They are a precious national resource and invaluable to Penn," Gutmann wrote.
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