We are a group of concerned student groups and DePaul affiliates (the Alliance) who want to express the following about university policies regarding federal policing of immigration status under Operation Midway Blitz and beyond: 

We are concerned about current policies and feel that they are evidence of anticipatory obedience. Because of this, legal but unconstitutional policing will only expand. Resistance — even subtle reforms — will not only keep us safe but prevent greater military occupation.

Current policies essentially allow for federal policing in all areas except private ones including the dorms, buildings for which an I.D. is needed, and classroom spaces when in use. This allows agents quite a lot of access designated as “public” even though the university could easily designate these areas as private. 

Second and most concerningly, faculty and staff are urged to allow arrests and then call campus police and the Office of General Counsel (OGC). Asking for a valid criminal warrant could occur but this presupposes that faculty, staff and students are trained in rights and can recognize valid warrants. Most cannot, and many are fearful of bearing such responsibility during often physically violent entries and arrests. 

The current situation results in a de facto university policy the arrests should occur unimpeded and then the “innocent” will be released according to due process. Migration policing does not follow criminal justice standards. Most warrants would not be valid in the criminal justice system. 

And as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has admitted, migration enforcement is based on appearance, accent, birth place and other factors that allow for the policing of status and not a crime. Additionally, since 1996, U.S. law has imposed criminal penalties on migrants while denying them criminal rights, standards, and procedures. The term “enforced disappearance” most adequately characterizes these processes — not jail, justice or democracy.

Hence, it is the university’s Vincentian responsibility to minimize the possibility that any members of our community will be arrested by immigration police.  To this end, we demand the following policy shifts:

1. Require DePaul ID/keycard entry to all buildings with active classes, libraries, or other student and faculty areas in daily operation.  This policy shift can be made to increase campus security, not as a criticism of federal policy.

2. Expand university shuttle service based on student needs for secure, private transportation. Immigration police typically follow individuals to/from their homes or workplaces.

3. Provide online teaching, class and staff work options for any foreigner who is afraid to leave their house. This policy is in the interest of campus and community safety, not as a critique of immigration policy. Covid-19 policies provide a precedent as well as accommodations for illness or disability.

4. Use the campus emergency alert system to alert all students, faculty and staff upon verified reports of immigration policing on or near campus and in off-campus locations where DePaul classes are being held. Immigration police presence and activity in downtown Chicago during the week of Oct. 1 should have been such an occasion for an alert. Alerts are in line with current policy and activating the alert system no differently from when we are alerted to police and/or fire department presence, crime incidents, gas leaks and other potential dangers to the community.

5. Provide shuttle service for Chicago Quarter classes and other classes being conducted in the city/suburbs. Alert faculty teaching such courses about verified reports of immigration policing activity and/or militarized actions in areas where specific classes are to be conducted so that they can be redirected/rescheduled.

6. Prohibit all DePaul cooperation with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement unless university counsel has received and verified a valid criminal warrant and/or social security audit. If possible, cooperate with valid audits off campus/away from students, staff and faculty.

7. Protect students specifically targeted by immigration enforcement by maintaining the student’s enrollment status, providing advising and counseling support, and directing them to competent legal aid resources, such as NIJC or ICIRR, not OGC or legal aid that prioritizes the university’s protection. Provide students who have been forcibly relocated to another country with online options to complete courses and degrees remotely.

8. End the Human Dignity and Bias Response Team and reporting site. This insecure website invites anyone to file anonymous politically or otherwise motivated claims against students, faculty, and staff. All complaints and lists generated in this system are registered by Maxient, a private data mining and selling corporation.  This system invites doxing and possibly undue suspensions and terminations. This Orwellian system does not protect the dignity of our communities or protect against bias. This only worsens the fear, division and misinformation currently circulating and evident in these policies.

9. Please do not interfere with grassroots groups from engaging in legal measures of self-protection from putting up “private” signs on classroom doors to forming rapid response groups to document abuse.

 The Alliance firmly supports sanctuary policies and urges DePaul to act on its Vincentian ideals to protect our community and more closely align with the Illinois governor, Chicago’s mayor, and Chicago Public Schools who have more clearly resisted unjust policing that violates constitutional provisions, destroys the hope of human rights, and declares war on our communities and neighbors. We demand that DePaul take these measures and prioritize justice over fear and misinformation.

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This letter was submitted by The Alliance, a coalition of three student organizations and several faculty members who fear professional or academic repercussions for speaking out. The DePaulia has verified the letter’s origin and confirmed that it came from DePaul faculty, staff and students.