UndocuHoosier Alliance strategized for their sanctuary campus, church and city campaigns at a meeting Monday night, following a call to uphold and expand the Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by IU administration.
Since 2012, DACA has provided deferred action for undocumented people who came to the United States as children, but the election of Donald Trump could threaten its existence.
Alliance board members met with Provost Lauren Robel earlier in the day, learning the administration is reluctant to declare IU a sanctuary campus, which would protect undocumented students at the University, because they do not want to risk losing funding by defying the state.
“One of the things the administration likes to say is that they will protect students to the limit of the law,” UHA President Willy Palomo said. “But a sanctuary campus really does stand within the limits of the law, if you’re looking at this memo.”
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo he referenced circulated in October 2011 and declared schools are protected from immigration enforcement.
Still, UHA is one of about 200 groups around the U.S. trying to convince administrations to declare themselves sanctuary campuses. According to Palomo, more than 25 have succeeded so far.
The push for a sanctuary campus, though, is not the only goal the growing UHA is working toward.
Palomo said the administration has offered to advocate for the continuation of DACA status and for the equal treatment of such students for all educational programs.
“If Provost Robel really means that, that’s huge,” he said. “That would mean equal opportunities and scholarships, which is a huge gap right now, especially since we live in a state where undocumented students have to pay out-of-state tuition.”
To support these students, UHA is in the process of organizing several fundraising efforts, including selling food at an upcoming poetry slam at the Bishop Bar and trying to add an option to donate to undocumented students during class registration.
An IU staff member and a representative from Bloomington Cooperative Living also offered their support in the fundraising subcommittee meeting led by IU student Esmeralda Martinez.
The alliance plans to attend the next Bloomington Faculty Council meeting, as well, and support faculty who will support resolutions to help undocumented students.
According to Palomo, there are thousands of university-age undocumented people in Indiana, but there are only about 200 in the whole IU system.
“Numbers of undocumented students are low because it takes so much for these students to survive in our environment, to be able to afford college in the first place, to be able to jump through all the hoops they need to in order to receive the resources that they deserve,” Palomo said.
Recruitment and retention of undocumented students could be aided by mandatory training for admissions and faculty on how to better interact with the students, Palomo said. However, even better might be creating a way for undocumented or Latinx students to reach out and recruit undocumented high school students.
“I don’t care how well-trained your admission person is,” Palomo said. “Them talking about their experience will be nothing like the undocumented college student reaching out to that undocumented high schooler, showing them it actually is possible.”
