University President Declares Wesleyan a Sanctuary Campus for Undocumented Immigrants

MIDDLETOWN, CT —Wesleyan University President Michael Roth declared this week that Wesleyan is a sanctuary campus and will not voluntarily assist in any efforts by the federal government to “deport our students, faculty or staff solely because of their citizenship status.”

Roth made the declaration after speaking with students, faculty and staff over the last week, and having conferred with the Board of Trustees, according to a post on the university’s website.

Roth also wrote that Wesleyan will remain “committed to the principles of non-discrimination, including equal protection under the law, regardless of national origin or citizenship.”

“As we say in our webpages, we will continue to ‘welcome all undergraduate applicants regardless of citizenship status. Undocumented students, with or without Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), who apply to Wesleyan will continue to be treated identically to any other U.S. citizen or permanent resident in their high school,’” Roth wrote on the post. “Through our alumni networks, we are also putting together legal resources for members of the Wesleyan community with questions concerning their immigration status. We will facilitate connections to these resources and other support services, as we work with appropriate offices and constituency groups on campus.

“These are small steps, to be sure, in the face of a very frightening wave of threats to roll back the civil rights gains made in recent decades. But we will stand up and take these steps; we will do our best to protect our community, and we will gather resources to enable all its members, regardless of citizenship status, to continue to have opportunities to thrive here.”

Image via Wesleyan University on Facebook