International students, faculty and staff are critical to the Simmons community. With the constant threats ICE is posing to immigrants in this country, they deserve to be supported and protected as fully as possible. Simmons YDSA has decided to follow the model of other universities and start an initiative to ensure these protections are in place. We have made a list of demands, included below, that we plan to take the administration so they can implement a plan to make Simmons a sanctuary campus, which means our administration will commit to not cooperating with ICE and will take concrete steps to keep our international community safe. Please sign to show your support for this resolution and help make our campus safe for immigrants! 

Our Demands:

From herein the term Community Members refers to students (undergraduate and graduate), faculty members (professors, adjunct faculty, part-time faculty), and any workers or contractors (dining hall workers and facilities workers) on the Simmons University premises.

From herein the term Simmons-Managed Property is defined to include any property owned, rented (in part or whole), leased, or otherwise primarily operated by Simmons.

From herein the use of the term the University encompasses the Simmons University administration and the Simmons University Police Department.

(1) Publicly declare the University to be a sanctuary campus. We define a sanctuary campus to mean that the Simmons Administration and any party contracted with the University will not:

Engage in any assistance, coordination, or partnership with Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including deputizing officers or arresting people as part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) 287(g) program

Follow through with ICE detainer requests

Cooperate in the transfer of detainees from campus police custody to DHS custody

Collaborate with federal agencies in any effort to identify, surveil, detain, or deport community members

(2) Federal immigration authorities must be barred from entering Simmons-managed property if they do not have an appropriate judicial warrant except as required by lawful subpoena or lawful order. In the event that the University is served with a valid search or arrest warrant by DHS that has not been invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, the University shall request that any questioning of community members on the University’s premises occur in as private a setting as possible.

(3) Mandate legal training for all university faculty and staff to ensure they understand the difference between an administrative and judicial warrant.

(4) Guarantee the privacy of community members by refusing to release information regarding their immigration status or place of residence to any government agency, except as required by a lawful subpoena. The University will provide notice within one calendar day to any community member of a subpoena or any investigation from a governmental agency seeking information about the community member.

(5) Ensure all students have the opportunity to continue their education and graduate through online coursework regardless of any changes in their immigration status.

(6) Guarantee to all workers, faculty members, or contractors employed by the University that admin, in a timely manner, will continue to complete work authorization documentation consistent with applicable law and student authorization documentation in the same manner. The University will continue its practice of assisting community members by promptly providing documents necessary for immigration matters, and will respect the privacy rights of workers consistent with all applicable laws.

(7) Provide resources that advise international and undocumented students and teachers about how to minimize risk of being denied reentry when traveling outside

 the country.