The University of Pennsylvania is Donald Trump’s alma mater. It is here that he skated through on his hair and money. However, the school for higher learning does not share Trump’s xenophobic ideas and will be offering up sanctuary to immigrants. The university’s president Amy Gutmann emailed the student body saying as much.
"The University of Pennsylvania will not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) / Customs and Border Protection (CBP) / U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on our campus unless required by warrant," the email said. "Further, the university will not share any information about any undocumented student with these agencies unless presented with valid legal process."
[...]
"The University of Pennsylvania will continue to advocate passionately for comprehensive immigration reform," the email said. It said that Gutmann, as Penn's president and past president of the Association of American Universities, "has repeatedly communicated to our nation's leaders her support for undocumented students, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, and the continuation and expansion of DACA," President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. It said the university "will continue to forcefully speak out in support of these critical issues."
Universities will be one of the benchmarks for how Trump’s totalitarian policies are working or not working in our country as the next few months and years unfold, and we should support any and all organizations that take strong stands on protecting the values our country aspires to.