(The Center Square) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio wants state college and university leaders not to help federal officials enforce new immigration policies.
In a letter to Ohio’s public college and university presidents released Wednesday morning, the ACLU called President Donald Trump’s new policies inhumane and illegal and warned the leaders to avoid being unintentionally complicit.
“We urge leadership at Ohio’s public colleges and universities to protect the safety and legal rights of their international students from government overreach,” said Freda Levenson, legal director of ACLU of Ohio. “We have seen the federal government manipulate universities into carrying out their unlawful immigration enforcement by suddenly and without notice terminating thousands of international students’ statuses across the state. Ohio’s educational institutions have no duty to act as an enforcer of ICE, and doing so undermines the integrity of these institutions.”
The letter said the administration’s recent revocation of college students’ visas is a retaliation for student protests in recent years. It also said thousands of international students’ records were terminated in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System, which results in schools telling students they lost their immigration status and “must immediately leave the country.”
The letter reads in part, “We write to urge your institution to assert its right to resist being commandeered as an arm of ICE and instead to protect the safety and legal rights of its international students from government overreach. Voluntarily engaging in immigration enforcement activity risks jeopardizing the integrity of your institution and eroding trust in the school community.”
Recently in Wisconsin, an alleged attempt by a county judge to help a foreign national evade capture by ICE officials led to her arrest on federal charges and suspension.
Also, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers recently issued a memo that asked state employees to not to answer questions from a federal agent, give access to systems or information and to call the state Office of Legal Counsel.
