The University of Alabama has a responsibility to ensure that every member of its community can learn, work, and live without fear. Immigrant and international students, staff, and faculty are essential to UA’s academic, cultural, economic, and social life—yet many live under the constant threat of detention, deportation, surveillance, and data misuse.

Immigration enforcement does not belong on a university campus. The presence or threat of ICE creates fear that prevents students from attending class, seeking medical care, accessing university resources, or reporting harm. Across the country, universities have shown that it is both possible and lawful to refuse voluntary cooperation with immigration enforcement while still complying with the law.

UA is not legally required to assist ICE beyond specific judicial mandates—but voluntary cooperation, data sharing, silence, and police collaboration actively put members of our community in danger. This petition calls on the University of Alabama to declare itself a sanctuary campus and to take concrete, enforceable steps to protect immigrant and international students from state violence.

Symbolic statements are not enough. We are demanding real protections, transparency, and institutional accountability so that no student’s education, safety, or future is destroyed by immigration enforcement.

What We Are Demanding:

We call on the University of Alabama to declare itself a sanctuary campus by committing to the following:

1. Keep ICE off campus

• No ICE presence on campus without a judicial warrant
• No cooperation with ICE beyond what is legally required
• Don’t allow ICE or CBP to recruit on campus

2. Protect student, staff, and faculty data

• No voluntary sharing of personal or immigration-related data with ICE or DHS
• No use of third-party vendors that share data with immigration enforcement

3. Support immigrant and international students materially

• Subsidised immigration legal aid
• Emergency financial support for students affected by detention or deportation
• Guaranteed academic leniency for students impacted by ICE actions

4. Be transparent about ICE and DHS activity

• Monthly public reports of any ICE or DHS requests
• Immediate public notice of ICE activity on or near campus

5. Refuse police collaboration with ICE

• The University of Alabama Police Department must not assist ICE raids, surveillance, or detentions

6. Make a clear institutional commitment to safety

• A public affirmation of support for immigrant and international students
• Training for faculty and staff on protecting students and responding to immigration enforcement