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A central component of the University of Maryland, College Park is its commitment to “diversity and inclusiveness in both educational and work environments.” A university priority is “providing equal educational opportunity, hiring and retaining a diverse faculty and staff of exceptional achievement, recruiting and graduating talented students from traditionally underrepresented groups, and providing a supportive climate for their health, well-being, and professional growth.” Our campus community includes immigrants from nations all over the world.  Our student body includes the children of undocumented parents and those who are undocumented immigrants themselves.

Within the past week, President-elect Donald J. Trump has vowed to deport up to 3 million undocumented immigrants from the United States. He has also announced that he will cancel the Obama Administration’s executive orders, which will most likely include Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA protects many of our students form deportation, grants them authorization to work in the United States, and allows them to obtain a driver’s license.

You were a champion of the Maryland Dream Act in 2012, President Loh.  Since then, the University has admitted hundreds of students through the provisions of this legislation. It has also admitted undocumented students who are not beneficiaries of our state’s Dream Act. Many undocumented students face financial challenges, a complex legal environment, and deep concerns related to their family’s safety and their own physical and psychological well-being.

The University of Maryland has an obligation to provide a supportive educational environment to the students it admits. That obligation is even more important when students face serious policy-related threats and widespread social hostility. The election of Donald Trump has generated a campus climate of fear and vulnerability. Students are filling faculty offices to share their worries, concerns, and stories of racist actions or intimidation they or their friends or family have experienced. Immigrants and students from mixed-status families are most obviously feeling threatened, but we are alarmed by the pervasive anxiety across campus. Immediate action is needed to ensure that the University of Maryland will remain a beacon of inclusivity and dignity for all members of the campus community.

Immigrants, including undocumented students, contribute to our campus community and participate in the intellectual life of our university. We call on you to support immigrant members of our community and undocumented students through the following action steps:

1.    Ensure that students who have been admitted with DACA status prior to January 20th will continue to receive in-state tuition benefits if DACA is eliminated

2.    Enhance undocumented students’ access to Undergraduate Student Legal Aid services

3.    Establish a dedicated resource center for undocumented students and students from mixed-legal status families to assist them with academic support and navigation of the university

4.    Fully fund a staff position that is dedicated to the support of undocumented students

5.    Devote additional resources to the training of campus mental health professionals to ensure that they exercise cultural competency in working with those facing issues of familial separation and the chronic threat of deportation

6.    Instruct relevant University officials to take the lead in protecting members of our community from unfair intimidation, investigation, and detention, as well as unfair prosecution related to immigration enforcement

7.    Increase support for programs and faculty on campus that generate better understanding of and respectful dialogue about ethnicity, race, gender, and immigration

8.    Issue a strong, public statement reinforcing the university’s support for immigrant rights and the protection of immigrant students, including those who are undocumented

We appreciate the University of Maryland’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and support for underrepresented groups. However, those values are now under serious threat due to the ongoing transformation of politics and social relations as well as the announced policies of the incoming administration. We need your immediate and unequivocal leadership on the action items above to ensure support for the University of Maryland’s values and for the lives of every member of our community, regardless of immigration status.  DOWNLOAD UMD unafraid educator sign.