Last week, Carleton joined a court filing in support of a case challenging the Trump administration’s visa revocations and detentions of non-citizen students for their political views. The move, announced in the April 10 issue of the Carleton Today newsletter, follows the government’s stripping of nearly 1,200 visas from students at 180 colleges and universities nationwide. The brief was joined by 85 other colleges and associations, from Pomona College to Georgetown University, and was coordinated by the nonpartisan Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.
“The goal of the case is to force a legal ruling on whether the government is acting within the bounds of the law,” said Carleton President Alison Byerly. “We all have a vested interest in this, because it really is a threat directed against all of us.”
The 38-page brief — called an amicus brief, meaning “friend of the court” — was filed on April 9 in the case American Association of University Professors v. Rubio. This type of filing “basically assert[s] that, though not parties in this case, we have a vested interest in the outcome because educational institutions are being impacted,” Byerly said. Such briefs do not create any liabilities for the college according to Byerly, but it “does certainly create visibility for the college. It’s publicly saying, ‘We have a perspective on this case.’”
Among other things, the brief claims that federal policies “have created a climate of fear among non-citizen students on campuses across the country,” which it argues will reduce students’ freedoms of speech and expression, harm colleges’ educational goals, financially hurt colleges by reducing international student enrollment and exacerbate a “brain drain” away from U.S. institutions where top students will opt to pursue education in other countries.
Colleges and universities occasionally use amicus briefs to address issues in cases that could affect students or institutional practices, Byerly said; however, those not directly involved in litigation usually stray away from advancing legal arguments. Instead, they typically lay out factual or policy reasons as to why specific outcomes will impact higher education as a whole, with the dual goal of affecting how the judges may decide the case, and how the public sees it.
Though the outcome of this lawsuit is uncertain, the brief “dramatizes the fact that this goes beyond … an individual student or an individual institution that’s been targeted,” Byerly said. “[The] case is really strengthened by schools being willing to say, ‘We understand ourselves to be somewhat interested parties.’”
The Presidents’ Alliance is the foremost advocacy organization to strengthen the position of international students in higher education, according to Byerly. As a member of the organization, Carleton has twice before signed onto their amicus briefs, such as to support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and others whose student legal status was at risk.
This is the first such brief Carleton has signed onto during President Trump’s second term. But while there has been national conversation about what colleges and universities “have or haven’t done, it’s important to remember it’s only been a few weeks that all of these things have been happening,” said Byerly. “It’s hard to fight back legally until specific actions have been taken.”
Though the brief publicizes the college’s position, Byerly said she believes it is unlikely to prompt the same backlash that other institutions have received for pushing back against mandates targeting college practices.
“We take seriously the idea that any time the college puts itself out there, you’re potentially exposing yourself to becoming more visible,” Byerly said. “But at the same time, here, we’re among 85 other colleges. It’s one of many different places where these legal issues are playing out.”
On campus, Carleton has done what it can to support and make resources available to international, undocumented and other concerned students. It formed an Immigration Task Force (ITF) in late Jan. composed of administrators and staff members from offices across the college to track the national landscape and consolidate information. Members include the International Student Life (ISL) office director, the Provost, the Dean of Students and the Security Services director, among others.
“I can imagine that many [students] might feel alarmed,” Byerly said. “Carleton has articulated the importance of academic freedom within our own community vigorously enough that I hope students, as well as faculty and staff, would feel well supported internally in their ability to show their views.”
The ITF maintains a website — accessible to Carleton community members at the top of the Moodle homepage — that Byerly described as the best source of immigration information for students. It provides immigration response guidance, steps to take if approached or contacted by federal officers on campus, know-your-rights information and quick access to other resources.
The ITF acts as a centralized resource that represents every office and can respond to all types of questions from across the community, explained Dr. Dina Zavala, a task force co-chair and Vice President for Inclusion, Equity and Community (IEC). “Our role is to do everything we can to support the most affected [in our] community, inform and keep the community up to date on every single trend that is happening.”
She encouraged all concerned community members to connect with task force representatives when questions arise. Those with pressing concerns should contact Carleton Security, whose staff is trained in responding to immigration-related questions and connecting students to resources. According to Byerly, the ISL has been in “close contact” with some students over the past months for advice tailored to students’ specific situations. Zavala added that concerned faculty can meet with the Provost and staff with the director of Human Resources for additional advice; she is also available to meet with all community members..
“We all are getting trained in how to respond. If someone at Carleton doesn’t know the answer, they will point out the right person,” said Zavala. “Everyone is very invested on campus. That is one thing that’s very wonderful to see.”
Both Zavala and Byerly pointed to other standalone resources. Carleton has arranged free consultations with an immigration attorney for community members, which can be accessed by emailing the IEC office. The IEC and Security offices have handed out over 800 physical know-your-rights cards. The task force has also hosted events, like an April 15 presentation on how to respond if federal immigration enforcement is encountered on campus. “All students have access to resources,” Zavala said.
Despite providing additional resources for international students, the unpredictability of the national climate may still affect the makeup of Carleton’s community. The college is unsure how international applicants will respond to immigration developments during the next admissions cycle, and developments are likely affecting the decision-making process of this year’s admitted applicants, wrote Aimee Thostenson, the director of Admissions’ international recruitment and an ITF member, over email.
“The complicated part is that we don’t know which policies will move forward and which might be introduced and then blocked,” Thostenson said, “which makes it challenging to advise both prospective and current students.”
Carleton has no plans to rescind offers of admission or financial aid to international applicants and will work with students individually if they are delayed in getting to campus at the start of classes in the fall, according to Thostenson. The college does not intend to assess international applicants any differently in future admissions cycles.
“The Admissions office continues to admit international students who will add their experiences to the campus community and does so in support of the College’s mission,” Thostenson said. “[It] supports an admissions process that follows federal and state laws and will continue to do so.”
Byerly said that the recent student-focused immigration policies are about alarming students who believe they are vulnerable because of where they are from or because of views they have expressed. “It’s about sending a message to higher-ed,” she said.
“There [are] a lot of things happening behind the scenes that allow us to serve our community better,” Zavala said. “Just because you aren’t hearing about something doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”
“Everyone recognizes that we don’t know what the federal government will do, and we can’t control what the federal government does,” said Byerly. “[But] we can control our response, and we can certainly — in actions like signing the amicus brief — institutionally seek to shape the direction of this landscape in a broader way.”
