Georgia’s University System sent a strong signal Monday that it does not want to see “sanctuary campuses” in the state.
Designed to protect college students studying in the United States without legal status, the idea of sanctuary campuses has been gaining steam nationally in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election as president.
Recently, the issue has begun to flare here in Georgia. There has been discussion among some leaders at Armstrong State University in Savannah about adopting the label. And Emory University, a private college in Atlanta, said it was looking into the issue as well.
But in a prepared statement sent to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the university system said while they respect the rights of students, faculty and staff to express their views, “calls for institutions to implement policies and procedures that may violate state and federal laws are unacceptable.”
“The University System of Georgia and its institutions have always abided by the law and will continue to do so,” the statement says. “We expect our institutions to follow the law and cooperate with all federal and state agencies. As public employees we have a duty to uphold the law.”
The sharp statement case amid recent discussion at Armstrong State University. According to the campus newspaper, The Inkwell, Faculty Senate President Clifford Padgett “proposed getting the University System of Georgia Faculty Council on board and getting other institutions to come together to do a full resolution.”
“We don’t know how much support there will be from all the other schools,” Padgett said last week, according to the campus newspaper. He added: “I know we would like to put in a united front.”
The term “sanctuary” has been borrowed from municipalities across the nation that have declared themselves “sanctuary cities.” Though the meaning varies widely, it typically refers to cities that don’t fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities who are seeking to deport people.
A spokesman for Board of Regents Chairman Kessel Stelling Jr. and Chancellor Hank Huckaby said they were unavailable for comment Monday.
Emory announced last month it was considering a request to become a “sanctuary campus,” though it has also said it would follow state and federal laws.
Agnes Scott College President Elizabeth Kiss has said the private Decatur school would continue to support students who have been granted temporary protection from deportation through an Obama administration program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The program has granted deportation deferrals and work authorization to 741,000 immigrants across the nation, including 23,177 in Georgia.
State Rep. Earl Ehrhart of Powder Springs has said he plans to introduce legislation that would block colleges from receiving state funds if they aren’t complying with state and federal law. Such a decision could cost private schools tens of millions of dollars in grants, tuition assistance programs and other funding.
“You’ve got to follow the law. You can’t have a public or private institution violating the law,” said Ehrhart, the Republican chairman of the House’s higher education financing panel. “That’s a terribly slippery slope.”
Other Republicans also criticized Emory and Agnes Scott for floating the idea.
“You can’t openly defy federal law. If you do, where does it start?” said state Sen. Fran Millar, chair of the Senate’s Higher Education Committee. “It’s the law and we have to uphold the law. Let’s concentrate on educating people. And if people don’t think they’re safe, let’s provide the necessary security.”
Trump has vowed to cancel the DACA program and deport millions of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. Following the Republican’s election, students and faculty from more than 100 universities have called on their administrators to declare themselves sanctuaries or otherwise protect students who are living in the U.S. without permission.
Last week, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed pledged to support young immigrants who have been granted DACA and vowed the city would forcefully prosecute any hate crimes targeting newcomers.
Laura Emiko Soltis, executive director of Atlanta-based Freedom University, which provides tuition-free college preparation classes for immigrants without legal status, issued a prepared statement this month, saying the mayor and Emory took a positive step, "but they lack clear commitment to any substantive policy changes."
