Aditi Dholakia
Aditi Dholakia
Toward the end of last semester, as post-election tensions were fluctuating day by day, I wrote a column endorsing NC State Student Government’s Resolution 60. Resolution 60 is a bill proposed to and subsequently passed by the Student Senate requesting action from Chancellor Randy Woodson and other university officials and administrators to protect undocumented students on campus from the Department of Homeland Security. The bill was written as a preemptive measure against any possible anti-immigrant policies Trump would put in place once sworn in.
Now, a mere week and three days after Trump’s official inauguration, our students, documented and undocumented, are at risk for deportation, and the pleas of Resolution 60 have become increasingly urgent.
With the stroke of a pen, Trump enacted two executive orders that directly target undocumented immigrants, such as Mexicans seeking better lives for themselves and their children, as well as documented immigrants — specifically from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen — such as students receiving an education on a student visa.
It’s important to take a second to note the blatant self-service motivating Trump’s bans on Muslim “terrorists” and Mexicans; although the seven banned countries are among a long list of countries under terrorism watch by the Obama administration, the countries whose citizens have truly posed threats to the U.S. in the past, such as Saudi Arabia, have been conveniently left off the banned list due to Trump’s strong business ties.
According to Woodson, our university has approximately 170 employees, students and guest lecturers who are or may be affected by Trump’s immigrant ban toward the apparently dangerous Muslim-majority countries. While Woodson and university officials urge affected members of the Wolfpack not to travel until the ban is lifted or further information is released, there is more that can be done to protect students and employees.
Since the official enactment of the so-called #MuslimBan, U.S. citizens have been in an uproar, protesting at airports across the country. A number of U.S. diplomats around the world have even drafted what they’re calling a “dissent memo” objecting to the idea and implementation of the ban. Countries such as Iran have already taken action to retaliate against the U.S. by pledging to ban any and all U.S. citizens from entering, essentially severing all ties with our country.
A number of universities and university officials across the country have condemned Trump’s executive order, calling it illegal and unconstitutional. The University of Michigan and Duke University have both refused to release any information about the immigration or citizenship statuses of their students. Duke University released a statement saying it “cannot and will not share confidential student records with law enforcement agencies — local, state or federal — without a subpoena.”
Although Resolution 60 was initially written as a protective measure for undocumented students studying at NC State under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, with every new executive order signed by Trump’s free-flowing ink, the necessity of Resolution 60 has never been greater. Now, not only are people from seven Muslim-majority countries in danger of being deported or detained, but undocumented immigrants are also at risk, given that Trump has decreed that the Department of Homeland Security give local law enforcement the ability to act as immigration officers.
Taking a page out of Duke University’s book, I urge NC State university officials and Chancellor Woodson to work together with the NC State University Police Department in refusing to inquire about or release the immigration or citizenship statuses of our students, employees and other affiliates. As suggested in Resolution 60, the university should continue to provide and expand their legal services offered to targeted students and their families in protection against deportation or detainment.
The actions of some do not define or predict the actions of all. We are advertised as being One Pack, united in the face of adversity — let’s put actions to our words.