700 MSU faculty, staff say they won't help federal immigration officials
EAST LANSING -- About 700 Michigan State University employees have signed a statement indicating they will not collaborate with federal agencies that try to discern the immigration status of university students.
In a “statement of solidarity,” faculty and staff said they would support students’ attempts to remain in the U.S and will not collaborate with federal agencies seeking to apprehend or deport them.
The statement has been signed by about 700 MSU employees in the past two weeks. MSU employs about 12,000 faculty and staff, according to its website.
“It’s very personal for many people,” said Ken Harrow, an English professor at MSU. “Some of us, our grandparents or parents were immigrants.”
RELATED:
Trump supporters, protesters gather at Capitol in Lansing
Rumors fuel fears for Lansing-area immigrants
Farmers relieved by Trump's order regarding EPA rule
The faculty statement comes on the heels of executive orders that restrict travel to the U.S. and refugee resettlement.
A March 6 executive order from President Donald Trump suspended visitors from Syria, Yemen Somalia, Iran, Libya and Sudan for 90 days, and halted refugee resettlement for 120 days. The order, set to go into effect Thursday, also decreased the number of refugees allowed in to the U.S. in 2017 to 50,000.
Harrow said the faculty statement is meant as a message of support for students and a declaration that employees will not assist federal officials to apprehend or deport students.
“We want to stand with them,” Harrow said. “We want to support them.”
In a press release that accompanied the statement, Harrow said the statement “is not a call for disobedience of laws, but a refusal to collaborate with the federal immigration authorities such as ICE (Immigration and Customs enforcement).”
ICE officials declined to comment on the statement specifically, but said schools, medical facilities and places of worship are considered “sensitive locations.”
The sensitive location policy, according to officials, says that “enforcement actions at sensitive locations should generally be avoided, and requires either prior approval from an appropriate supervisory official or exigent circumstances necessitating immediate action. DHS is committed to ensuring that people seeking to participate in activities or utilize services provided at any sensitive location are free to do so without fear or hesitation.”
Harrow said the faculty statement is similar to past comments from MSU administration, but was put together without input from university administration.
When Trump first announced in late January a travel ban on visitors from certain Muslim-majority countries, MSU President Lou Anna Simon said the order was “deeply concerning as it runs counter to the global nature of our communities and our nation.”
MSU Spokesman Jason Cody said in an email the university appreciated "the efforts by our faculty and staff to reinforce the core values of MSU, including diversity and inclusion."
He said MSU does not disclose information from a student's education record, including immigration status, without the student's consent, unless compelled by law.
He said the January travel ban, which later was rescinded and replaced with the March 6 order, has limited the ability for some students to travel abroad. Cody said the university continues to admit students from the six restricted countries.
"MSU has always believed strongly in the benefits of having a diverse and global student body and work force, and that will not change," Cody said.
Contact Reporter Beth LeBlanc at 517-377-1167 or eleblanc@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LSJBethLeBlanc.