Four UVM unions rallied in the Davis Center last Thursday, urging UVM to protect its immigrant and LGBTQ+ community members.
The gathering was in response to a slew of executive orders from the Trump administration to expand immigrant detention, including one order that removed protections on “sensitive” places, such as schools, from being sites of detainment.
Trump also signed the Laken Riley Act on Jan. 21, which ordered the Department of Homeland Security to detain undocumented immigrants accused of burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.
The four unions published an open letter to Interim President Patricia Prelock on Feb. 4, outlining their demands for the University and urging compliance with a state law that prohibits public agencies from sharing “personally identifying information,” such as immigration status, with federal agencies.
“Our members are concerned about the safety of immigrant students and colleagues, especially those with legal status that may be called into question by the Trump administration [and] the safety of queer students and colleagues, especially trans and nonbinary individuals,” the letter stated.
The letter is signed by UVM Graduate Students United, UVM Staff United, United Academics and United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 267.
The unions also requested guidance on individual response in the event that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency makes an appearance on campus, and called for a guarantee that UVM Police Services will not participate or aid in any ICE activities that involve entering private spaces on campus.
“Before we sent that letter, we experienced two weeks of near silence from this administration,” said Ellen Kaye, co-president of UVM Staff United, during the rally on Thursday, Feb. 6.
The previous day, Prelock had issued a statement regarding the executive orders.
“The university follows the law, and existing university policies will continue to guide our actions and inform our understanding of, and response to, this complex and ever-changing situation,” Prelock stated.
Adam White, spokesperson for the University, declined to provide comment and instead referred a Cynic reporter to Prelock’s Feb. 5 statement.
United Academics is also calling on the University for direction in regards to the federal crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in higher education, said Linden Higgins, acting chair of the delegates committee for UA, in an interview with the Cynic.
“They say they’re committed to inclusive excellence, but I want really clear guidelines on what they’re going to do,” she said. “What are they going to do if [the Trump administration] comes and says ‘we’re going to pull all your funding unless you do away with your diversity requirements?’”
Higgins, who teaches Intro to Forensic Biology, a course that satisfies UVM’s diversity requirement, said the recent actions by the executive branch conflict with the University’s stated values and academic goals.
“We have a requirement that students take classes and come to a better understanding of the role of race and racism in the United States,” she said. “That is absolutely against what the Trump administration dictates.”
UVM is creating a “small task force” in response to the executive orders, Prelock stated in her Feb. 5 statement.
Higgins said she was encouraged by the University’s upcoming Feb. 11 event, “Separation of Powers: How Executive Orders Function in Our Political Landscape,” which was created in response to the current federal landscape.
The event, which is being held in the Ira Allen Chapel at 7 p.m., will feature a faculty panel as well as virtual appearances by Vermont’s federal legislators Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch and Becca Balint.
