Pointing to the possibility of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents taking action on Penn State’s campuses, the Faculty Senate passed a motion Tuesday calling on the university to clarify its policy and, if it is not already required, to have a university "peace officer” present if ICE agents interact with students, faculty or staff.
Faculty member Victor Brunsden who made the motion, said the “urgency” of the situation called for quick action.
“We now have a situation nationwide where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, otherwise known as ICE, are deporting international students for a variety of reasons, often linked to speech which is regarded as un-American," Brunsden said.
The Trump administration has been using a little-known statute to revoke the visas of noncitizens. International students are among those who’ve been detained.
The motion, which calls for a "peace officer" — a Penn State police officer or someone acting as one of their deputies — to be present, passed 140-33.
Faculty member Agnès Kim said people who haven’t committed crimes are getting deported.
“A student could write an op-ed, participate in a protest walk and hold a sign, and other things (are) also grounds for picking them up and sending them home, leaving their studies, belongings, loved ones behind," Kim said.
After the vote, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said large parts of campus are public and federal enforcement agents may enter those areas without a warrant. But, she said, if someone is approached in a non-public setting, federal agents can be referred to the university’s Office of General Counsel.
She said the university would be following up with more information.
