Nearly a month after Donald Trump’s presidential win, UW-Madison faculty will cast votes Monday on a statement to stand in solidarity with students enrolled under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protects eligible undocumented youth from deportation.
The resolution is not the school’s first attempt to voice support for undocumented students, whose fate has been in question following Trump’s campaign rhetoric calling for anyone in the country illegally to be deported.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank added her name to a statement shortly before Thanksgiving, alongside more than 450 college and university presidents from across the country, that urged federal government officials to uphold DACA’s protections for students.
The Associated Students of Madison passed similar legislation last Wednesday. And thousands of students and community members marched to the Capitol shortly after the election, where some undocumented students spoke about their concerns and desire to continue attending college.
The resolution up for vote before the Faculty Senate acknowledges the “extreme stress” placed on undocumented students and the effect Trump’s presidency could ultimately have on their education.
It calls for faculty members to stand by those students “as our traditions of inclusiveness and public service require,” as well as the continuation and strengthening of DACA.
The statement does not, however, mention the desire from many students, faculty and staff to make UW-Madison a sanctuary campus.
Blank received a letter signed by more than 4,000 campus community members in mid-November asking the university to declare itself a sanctuary for undocumented students and their families.
But she later clarified that state leaders, not university leaders, have the power to enact that designation.
