Grace Monos
Audio By Carbonatix
Recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ramped up activity in the Valley, arresting people, raiding workplaces and looking for others to detain and deport. In response, many local school districts have taken steps to keep students and parents informed of their rights — specify which spaces are “safe” on the campuses — and let them know what to do if they are accosted by ICE.
All of this shows exemplary concern for the safety of these school districts’ communities. It also contrasts starkly with the lack of effort by Arizona State University to demonstrate similar care, support and preparation should ICE target its campuses.
In late January, the Phoenix Union High School District shared a video in which governing board president Francisco Pastor-Rivera informed students and parents of their rights. The video explains that school officials cannot disclose a student’s immigration status without parental consent or a court order, and shows what a judicial warrant looks like.
The video also explains that the district permits at-risk students to study remotely and has declared its schools “safe zones.” In short, the district has demonstrated genuine support for students and families and sent a clear message that ICE is unwelcome there.
Other Valley school districts have shown similar courage and care. The Madison Elementary School District advised families of their right to confidentiality about a student’s immigration status. The Gilbert Public Schools District wrote to parents with advice on laws meant to keep students safe from anti-immigrant action and supported students who participated in the recent walkouts over federal immigration overreach.
But ASU? Students, faculty and staff concerned about potential ICE actions on campus have received little guidance or support from our leadership.
In a page on the ASU Police website, academic personnel are asked to confirm the identity and authority of a law enforcement official and “request a statement of the official’s purpose for seeking access to university property.” Should ICE agents arrive, academic personnel are instructed to call ASU Police or the Office of General Counsel to ask for advice. ASU personnel are further told not to obstruct law enforcement, but also not to provide access to non-public spaces such as classrooms, faculty offices or dorms.
As two ASU faculty members, we find this “guidance” insufficient when faced with the lawlessness demonstrated by ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, nationwide. We are not reassured by Provost Nancy Gonzalez’s statement that federal law enforcement is unlikely to come onto university campuses. Compared to Valley schools, ASU has done little to help inform faculty, staff, students and their parents of their rights, let alone how to defend them. The university has offered minimal guidance or support if members of our community are threatened with arrest and deportation, and has provided no information about what accommodations are available to those at risk.
ASU’s charter explicitly states that the university assumes “fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.” As a Hispanic-Serving Institution, one of the state’s largest employers and the model of a “New American University,” ASU is uniquely positioned to demonstrate genuine leadership at this time in our nation’s history.
But unlike some Valley schools, ASU has shown neither courage to say that ICE is unwelcome nor care for its own community.
It is therefore up to faculty, staff and students, with the support of United Campus Workers (Communications Workers of America local 7065) and human and civil rights organizations, to create our own Know-Your-Rights training sessions, rapid response protocols and mutual support networks. At each of our campuses, we are organizing independently of management to do what our leadership has not. For those wanting to join us, Arizona’s Attorney General has provided helpful resources.
Many faculty and staff are prepared to put ourselves between ICE and our students. Will ASU do the same for us?
Tricia Redeker Hepner and Richard G. Newhauser are ASU faculty members and members of United Campus Workers Arizona, a labor union representing faculty, staff and student workers at ASU, Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona and Maricopa Community Colleges. UCWAZ is affiliated with the Communication Workers of America. Hepner’s and Newhauser’s opinions are their own.
