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Aggies call for Texas A&M to protect students from deportation
By AIMEE BREAUX aimee.breaux@theeagle.com Nov 22, 2016
Texas A&M students chant as they march across campus from Rudder Plaza during a demor
Monday.
Dave McDennand/rhe Eagle
Standing on the steps of the Academic Building on the Texas A&M
campus, undocumented immigrant Cinthia Cruz told a crowd of
demonstrators how difficult it is to hear fellow Aggies equate being
undocumented to being dishonest or criminal.
"I didn't have a choice," Cruz said Monday. "When my family was about to
cross the border, I got separated from my mother. As a 10 -year-old woman,
I was forced to cross the border by myself. That's not something a child
should go through."
In the last 11 years, Cruz has come to call the U.S. home. She has held
various internship positions because of an executive order by President
Barack Obama that grants temporary work permits to undocumented
residents who meet certain criteria. Despite this, she said, she faces the
threat of deportation in a matter of months.
"My hopes, my dreams might be taken away from me by people who don't
understand what it's like to be undocumented," Cruz said.
Monday's demonstration was organized by the student -led Council for
Minority Student Affairs, which is calling for administrators to declare Texas
A&M a "sanctuary campus."
Alternating between chants in English and Spanish -- and at one point
diverging to a chant of "Black Lives Matter" -- participants made up the
latest installment in the wave of protests across the United States that have
followed the presidential election. Demonstrators have voiced concerns
over President-elect Donald Trump's stances on immigration, including the
fear that a President Trump will get rid of the executive order known as
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, or DACA.
The demonstration on A&M's campus, dubbed "Undocumented & Unafraid"
by organizers, ended with participants such as Cruz sharing stories of
immigration and words of encouragement to undocumented students. The
stories included a Texas A&M student recounting her 8 -year-old sister's
fears that their parents will be deported and one of a few white protesters
explaining how his Christian faith has led him to his stance on immigration.
One demonstrator, who came to the U.S. from Peru at the age of 7,
described comforting his parents the day after the presidential election.
"I had to look [my parents] in the eye and tell them it would be OK, and I
don't even know if that's true," Carlo Chunga said.
The term "sanctuary campus" is used to generally refer to a campus that
protects undocumented students from deportation. Organizers Monday said
the specific measures they want the university to take to become a
sanctuary campus are outlined in an online petition authored by three
associate professors.
Among other measures, the petition calls for the university to not release
the immigration status of any student or fatuity member, to not comply with
immigration officials seeking to deport students, to provide counselors for
DACA students and to continue to allow students who qualify for DACA to
pay in-state tuition. The petition, which was created by Sonia Hernandez,
Felipe Hinojosa and Nancy Plankey has more than 1,500 signatures.
"It's building on this idea that the university setting should be a sanctuary
where people come to learn, exchange ideas, talk to each other, but not
where they should fear deportation," Hinojosa said.
University President Michael Young was not available for comment Monday
on whether Texas A&M is considering any of the proposed measures, but
Young has previously expressed support for legislation such as the Texas
Dream Act, which allows certain undocumented students to pay in-state
tuition rates from Texas universities.
Metzli Sanchez said a recent statement from the offices of the president
and provost gives her hope.
In a university -wide email Nov. 16, Young and Provost Karan Watson said
there have been reports of "inappropriate, disparaging comments from
students to others who pass by; of offensive signage; of individuals and
groups from all sides of an issue aggressive in their actions." The email did
not provide specifics, but went on to state that enrolled students of all
races, creeds, sexual orientation and immigration status attend Texas A&M
legitimately.
"It's a good, solid first step," Sanchez said. "Personally, for me, I'm happy
that the administration acknowledges that we have different communities
come here to A&M, but feel there's a lot more the university can do."
Demonstrators who chanted their hopes for more steps by the
administration were met with mixed reactions. Some passers-by didn't
acknowledge them and others gave encouraging fist bumps. Most quietly
snapped photos and continued walking.
Sitting outside the Harrington Education Center on central campus,
biological and agricultural engineering junior Kalin Clark watched the
demonstrators walk by.
"I can see where they are coming from -- they don't want their friends to be
deported," he said. "But if they are here illegally, that's the law."
While it's not yet clear how a Trump administration will affect immigration
laws in the U.S., demonstrator Angelina Arreaga said the Nov. 8 election
was foreboding. To her, a U.S. Congress controlled by Republicans will
mean laws that lead to friends and family being deported. For protesters
like her, the event was a promise of continuing commitment in the years to
come.
"Showing up today shows we aren't going to let [deportations] happen," she
said to the crowd.
Undocumented and Unafraid
A large group of A&M students, professors, staff and general citizens
formed Monday afternoon at Rudder Plaza and marched around campus to
demonstrate their concerns about what will happen to illegal aliens and
other marginalized members of the American population once the Trump
administration takes office.
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