An Indiana Senate committee approved a measure Tuesday to make “sanctuary universities” illegal in Indiana — a move that would prohibit universities from letting undocumented immigrants attend school, with some exceptions.
Those who were protected under former President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) will still be allowed at universities under House Bill 423 because they were brought into the country as children. But if President Trump were to repeal that program, Indiana universities would no longer be able to allow any undocumented immigrants to attend universities.
The bill’s passage through committee comes just a day after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a memo implementing Trump’s plans to crack down on undocumented immigrants. The memo called for government agents to identify any undocumented immigrant for deportation, with a focus on those who’ve committed crimes.
Trump left DACA untouched for now. Homeland Security spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said Tuesday that those deportation protections for about 750,000 undocumented immigrants would continue to be honored.
If Trump repeals DACA, bill author Sen. Michael Young, R-Indianapolis, said they would have to re-examine the state’s policies.
Still, some opponents of the Indiana Senate bill worry the legislation would just cause worry for immigrants already concerned with Trump’s policy promises on immigration.
Karina Garduno, vice president of the Indiana Latino Higher Education Council Board, said this legislation takes away students’ right to feel safe on campus.
“This bill would only intensify the fear the Indiana community is already experiencing,” Garduno said. “The fear that inundates their everyday lives is already an interruption in their education, which affects not only the individual directly but also those around them. We have seen the damage that anti- immigration legislation has done to our students already.”
The legislation, if it passes in the House and Senate, would only apply to the seven state universities, but a couple of senators suggested extending the measure to private universities on the Senate floor with amendments.
While definitions on “sanctuary universities” can vary slightly, this legislation prohibits universities from not sharing immigration status of students with government officials, maintains that it is illegal for undocumented students to attend universities and prohibits schools from offering instate benefits to these students. Young said the bill has nothing to do with immigration policy; it just requires universities to comply with state and federal government. He maintained that this bill was an expansion of previous legislation that outlawed sanctuary cities.
“We are a nation and a state of laws,” Young said. “We require our government entities to follow our laws.” Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who is now president of Purdue University, in 2011 approved a bill that denied in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students. He did, however, sign a letter in support of DACA and undocumented students that was circulating nationwide among university presidents in November.
In response to the proposed measure, a Purdue spokesman said the university will abide by state and federal laws. “We monitor all bills that could potentially impact our faculty, staff and students, and this is one such bill,” Brian Zink said in a statement. “However, as has been and will always be our practice, Purdue, as a state-supported, public institution, will adhere to all state and federal laws.”
In recent months, students at universities throughout the state and country have petitioned for the creation of sanctuary campuses, including Indiana University, IUPUI, Depauw University and Indiana State University. But so far, they haven’t been successful.
Notre Dame’s Faculty Senate passed a resolution in January calling for the president to designate the university as a “sanctuary campus,” but President Rev. John Jenkins chose not heed the senate’s advice.
Likewise, after Trump temporarily banned travel and immigration from seven countries, students and alumni from Ball State University reacted in anger to what they called a “vague” response from interim president Terry King in a letter to the editor in the student newspaper. King had sent a memo to students saying, “We will continue to closely follow developments and provide appropriate support and assistance.”
Some senators said the bill was unnecessary because of the lack of sanctuary schools in the state and were concerned it would only lead to negative perceptions about what the legislature was trying to accomplish.
Jeff Linder, the associate vice president for public affairs and government relations at Indiana University, said the school is not and would not be a sanctuary school. However, IU offers instate tuition to students under DACA.
USA Today contributed to this story.