We, the undersigned faculty and staff of Northwestern University, write to announce our renewed commitment to the safety and dignity of all students and workers in our community particularly at this time when President Donald Trump is announcing his administration’s intentions to institute a program of mass deportation in the United States.

Trump has selected the former Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director, Tom Homan, to oversee deportations. It’s a position that will not require Senate confirmation, and in December, Homan declared that he would begin the mass deportation program in Chicago by bringing ICE agents to the city, which remains a sanctuary city for all residents.

We recognize that the inflammatory language and news of this deportation program from leaders in the Trump administration has generated fear and worry among our students and workers, as well as for their friends and families.

To our students and colleagues: we affirm that we see you, we hear you and we stand with you. We take this opportunity to remind our faculty, staff and students that Evanston is a sanctuary city and the University’s Office for Student Enrichment Services supports Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and undocumented students, as does our student group Advancement for the Undocumented Community.

We ask President Michael Schill and the University to begin providing updated training for financial aid staff at NU who need to understand the specific circumstances of supporting DACA and undocumented students in the uncertain policy landscape that is unfolding.

We also ask President Schill and the University to recommit to these requests made by our colleagues in 2016:

• Issue a public statement reaffirming the University’s commitment to support and protect all of its students and workers, regardless of their citizenship status, religion, ethnicity or national origin
• Reaffirm current admission and financial aid policies regarding undocumented students
• Guarantee student privacy by refusing to release information regarding citizenship status
• Take steps to protect the visa status and funding of international students
• Refuse to comply with federal authorities regarding deportations or immigration raids

While this may be a time during which political discourse emphasizes fear and xenophobia, we also see this as a time to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that NU remains a welcoming space for all our students, workers and their families.

Respectfully,
Daisy Hernández, Associate Professor, English Department
Emily A. Maguire, Associate Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Sarah Schulman, Ralla Klepak Professor of English
Ray San Diego, Associate Professor of Instruction, Asian American Studies Program
Michelle N. Huang, Assistant Professor, Department of English & Asian American
Studies Program
Alejandra Uslenghi, Associate Professor, Spanish & Portuguese and Comparative
Literary Studies
Leslie M. Harris, Professor, History and Black Studies
Jeong Eun Annabel We, Assistant Professor, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures; Program in Comparative Literary Studies; Asian American Studies Program
Nathalie Bouzaglo, Associate Professor, Spanish & Portuguese
Mary Pattillo, Harold Washington Professor of Black Studies and Sociology, Chair of Black Studies
Martha Biondi, Lorraine H. Morton Professor of Black Studies and Professor of
History
Kalyan Nadiminti, Assistant Professor of English
Nitasha Sharma, Director of the Asian American Studies Program, Professor of Asian American Studies and Black Studies
Michael Anthony Turcios, Assistant Professor, Department of Radio/Television/Film, Latina and Latino Studies Program, Center for Native American and Indigenous Research
Sylvester Johnson, Professor of Black Studies
Justin L. Mann, Assistant Professor of English and Black Studies
Joshua Chambers-Letson, Chair of Performance Studies, Professor of Performance Studies and Asian American Studies
Audrey Silvestre, Assistant Professor, Latina and Latino Studies Program
Miguel Caballero, Assistant Professor, Spanish and Portuguese
Thomas Gaubatz, Assistant Professor, Asian Languages and Cultures
Elvia Mendoza, Latina and Latino Studies, Assoc. Prof. of Instruction
Helen Cho, Visiting Assistant Professor, Asian American Studies Program
Kelly Wisecup, Professor, Department of English & Center for Native American and Indigenous Research
Sarah Dimick, Assistant Professor, Department of English & Environmental Policy and Culture
Helen Thompson, Professor of English
Mérida M. Rúa, Professor, Latina and Latino Studies
Michelle Guittar, Latin American & Latina/o Studies Librarian, Department Head,
Northwestern University Libraries
Tara Fickle, Associate Professor, Asian American Studies
Jorge Coronado, Professor of Latin American Literatures, Dept of Spanish and Portuguese
Ignacio Fernandez Cruz, Assistant Professor of Communication
Ty Blakeney, Assistant Professor of French
Santiago J. Molina, Assistant Professor Department of Sociology
Juan Martinez, Associate Professor of English

If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.