agency
personnel
to
avoid
conducting
enforcement
activities at sensitive locations
unless they have prior approval
from an appropriate supervisory
official or in the event of exigent
circumstances,” he said. “The
locations
specified
in
the
guidance include schools, places
of worship and hospitals.”
According to the Frequently
Asked Questions page of the
Department
of
Homeland
Security’s
website,
DACA
individuals’ information would
not be “proactively provided” to
ICE, “unless the requestor meets
the criteria for the issuance of a
Notice To Appear or a referral to
ICE under the criteria set forth
in (United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services’) Notice to
Appear guidance.”
“This
policy,
which
may
be modified, superseded, or
rescinded at any time without
notice, is not intended to, does
not, and may not be relied upon
to create any right or benefit,
substantive
or
procedural,
enforceable by law by any party
in any administrative, civil, or
criminal matter,” the page states.
Susan
Reed,
managing
attorney
for
the
Michigan
Immigrant Rights Center, said
in an interview with Michigan
Radio people should still expect
an increase in deportations as a
result of the change.
“We heard Secretary Sessions
say that upon termination of the
program, people with DACA
would not be priorities for
deportation,” she said. “Which
sounds meaningful, but then
he said that if at any point they
encounter
an
immigration
officer, they would be issued a
notice to appear in immigration
court. So I would interpret that
as meaning there aren’t any
immediate plans to, say, take
the DACA file and go knock on
everyone’s door.”
Already,
ICE
activity
is
relatively
high
throughout
Washtenaw
County
and
southeastern Michigan. WICIR
operates an “urgent responder”
telephone line for people who
need immediate assistance with
immigration issues, and it has
received over 800 calls in the
past nine years, according to
Sanders.
“Half of them have involved
detainment or deportation of at
least one adult, and we know that
hundreds of children have lost
their primary parent,” she said.
“We also know that thousands
of children have lost a providing
adult.”
The reason for the high level
of activity, she explained, was
the proximity of the Canadian
border.
“A lot of people think of
immigration
enforcement
as
happening down on the southern
border, but we’re within 100
miles of the northern border, and
we have very robust immigration
and customs enforcement teams,”
she said. “All of them have quotas
that they are supposed to meet of
people who they are supposed to
detain and deport.”
In an email to students Tuesday
night, University President Mark
Schlissel criticized the Trump
administration’s
decision,
saying
the
University
was
working with other institutions
and organizations to pursue
legislation allowing the program
to continue.
“We are deeply disappointed
in today’s announcement that
the
administration
will
end
DACA, the Deferred Action on
Childhood Arrivals program,”
he wrote. “We want to assure
everyone in the University of
Michigan family that we are
working to understand all of
the implications of this change,
the timelines we face, and how
members of our community may
be affected.”
University spokeswoman Kim
Broekhuizen said the University
would do what they could legally
to protect students’ identities.
“The University would not
proactively share non-directory
student information with ICE or
other immigration enforcement
officials, unless required to do so
by public records laws, a lawful
subpoena or warrant or judicial
order,” she said.
Lopez noted it was additionally
important that the University
have policies in place backing
their statements.
“We don’t just come to our
department because we are going
to be kind and use a particular
set of words to make you feel
welcome — this is certainly
important — but we also want
policies in place that defend
people should they be pursued
by
immigration
enforcement
on our campus,” he said. “One
conversation
that
needs
to
happen is, to what extent is
campus law enforcement going
to be involved in these events?”
Although
it
is
not
yet
clear what orders the federal
government may make regarding
enforcement of the rescission,
Diane
Brown,
spokeswoman
for the University’s Division of
Public Safety and Security, said
the University would continue
following current policy.
“DPSS will follow an existing
practice of not asking students
(or
others)
for
immigration
status. The exception will be for
people who commit crimes and
are being processed,” she wrote
in an email to the Daily. “Our
protocols also do not include
partnering with ICE, though
of course we will adhere to any
lawful orders.”
In a Facebook post Tuesday
night,
Central
Student
Government President Anushka
Sarkar, LSA senior, and Vice
President Nadine Jawad, Public
Policy senior, issued a statement
to students with DACA status,
giving them instructions on how
to apply for renewal if they were
eligible.
“To
undocumented
and
DACAmented students in the
Michigan community: we stand
in solidarity with you and we will
fight alongside you to protect
your right to an inclusive and
safe education at the University
of Michigan,” the post read.
time for us at the University to
decide how we’re willing to and
how we’re going to protect that
information.”
Lopez emphasized that since
the program’s inception, there has
not been any official government
action to end it until now. “In
prior political moments, this was
just illogical to attack because it
was just political suicide,” Lopez
said. “It looks bad. But that’s not
the moments we’re in anymore.”
Several
universities
and
colleges across the state offer
in-state tuition to undocumented
students regardless of DACA
status, including the University
of
Michigan,
Wayne
State
University, Grand Valley State
University and several others.
In
a
statement
released
Sunday,
University
President
Mark Schlissel reaffirmed his
commitment
to
protecting
all
students
regardless
of
immigration status.
“At the University of Michigan,
we will continue to assess the
consequences of any changes to
DACA and keep our community
informed,” Schlissel wrote. “I also
want all students to know that I
view their opportunity to study
here as both the right thing to do
and in our nation’s best interest.”
The
Trump
administration
defended the move as a fair way
to end the program by allowing
some leeway for the transition
and time for Congress to pass
related legislation.
In his statement, Trump said
his emphasis on immigration
reform has not changed.
“Our enforcement priorities
remain
unchanged,”
Trump
wrote. “We are focused on
criminals, security threats, recent
border-crossers, visa overstays,
and repeat violators.”
There are no current plans
for DHS to share the personal
information provided by DACA
recipients
with
immigration
enforcement agencies. In his
statement,
Trump
“advised
the Department of Homeland
Security that DACA recipients are
not enforcement priorities unless
they are criminals, are involved in
criminal activity, or are members
of a gang.”
Both
Republicans
and
Democrats have voiced opposition
to
ending
DACA.
Speaker
Paul Ryan (R–Wis.) and other
Republican leaders urged Trump
not to end the program, according
to the Washington Post.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D–
Mich.) denounced the move to
end the program in a press release,
saying that Congress should react
to Trump’s action.
“These young people were
brought here through no fault
of their own,” Dingell wrote.
“America is their home and DACA
has allowed them to become
hardworking,
contributing
members of our society – offering
their talents to the workforce
and paying taxes that go toward
improving
our
health
care,
infrastructure and other critical
services.”
In Michigan alone, over 6,600
undocumented immigrants have
received protection under DACA,
and over 840,000 undocumented
immigrants
have
received
protection in the United States,
according to the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services.
Following the announcement
that Trump was ending DACA,
Gov. Rick Snyder (R) issued a
press release, which criticized
the decision and emphasized the
important role immigrants play in
the United States.
“Many are working toward
success under the existing DACA,
and for the certainty of their
future Congress should act quickly
to authorize and clarify their
status,” the press release read.
“In Michigan we will continue
to honor everyone’s journey who
has become part of our family of
10 million people, and remain the
most welcoming state in the nation
for immigrants and dreamers
seeking prosperity, a home and
a community that is accepting of
their family and their desire to
succeed in America.”
In
an
emailed
statement,
the College Democrats at the
University of Michigan voiced
opposition to the move by Trump
and voiced support for DACA
recipients.
“President Trump’s decision to
terminate DACA is an act of cruel
and unambiguous xenophobia,”
the email read. “We stand with
DREAMers and their right to live,
work, and learn in this country.”
The College Republicans at the
University of Michigan did not
respond to requests for comment
at the time of this article’s
publication.
In March, the Daily interviewed
several undocumented students
to get a glimpse into their lives at
the University of Michigan. While
none of these students responded to
the Daily’s request for comment at
this time, many expressed fear over
the potential end of DACA at the
time of their interview.
One LSA student, who asked
to be anonymous given their
immigration status, said they were
afraid for their family as well as
themselves.
“Every
morning
you
wake
up, like not knowing, especially
now, knowing whether or not
my parents will get in trouble at
work or something, especially
now given that there have been
a couple ICE (Immigration and
Customs Enforcement) raids in
east Michigan,” they said. “That’s
always been kind of scary. It’s one
of those things where you still are
always worried whether you come
home or you get a call saying this
happened. You never know.”
Another
undocumented
Rackham student, who also asked
to remain anonymous, said the
end of DACA puts an extreme
logistical strain on the lives of
DACA recipients.
“If DACA gets taken away, that
again puts us in a situation where
we can’t work, we can’t drive, we
can’t board a plane, we don’t have
any way to identify ourselves so
think of anything that you have
that is tied to your ID, like going
out and opening a bank account
or buying liquor or tobacco,” they
said.
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