TALHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Police departments at least three public universities in Florida are seeking agreements with the federal government to carry out immigration enforcement on campus.
That is a major change in school policy. Previously considered a “sensitive place.” Under federal government policies, the Trump administration has withdrawn it to segregation from such law enforcement activities.
This change will come as federal officials do. Revoke visas for international students And use what critics say New tactics with ambiguous justification In Push out some students Country.
Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, the University of Florida in Gainesville, and the University of South Florida in Tampa are all trying to represent campus police for immigration enforcement.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis prioritizes support for President Donald Trump’s massive deportation agenda. Signature of the new law Requires local and state agencies to use “best efforts” to support federal immigration enforcement.
FAU spokesman Joshua Grantzer said Florida’s “all state schools” are expected to pursue an expanded immigration enforcement agency.
“We are following guidance from the governor’s February 19th order to state law enforcement agencies, including FAUPD and other state university police departments,” Grantzer said in a statement.
School is not listed on An yet Online log 287(g) allows our immigration and customs enforcement agencies to train selected law enforcement officers, among the agencies participating in what is known as the programme; I’ll represent them Supporting the implementation of immigration laws.
If approved, the university’s police department could be the first person in the country to be granted such authority.
Under 287 (g) Task Force Modelsuch as the contract pursuing by the University of Florida, participating officers will have the authority to question “an alien or someone believed to be an alien” about their right to remain in the country, and in some cases, the authority to question the authority to arrest them without a warrant.
Jenica Charles, a political science student at FAU, said the news was “shocking.” The Haitian immigrant daughter said she found a welcoming community at schools in South Florida. In recent years, FAU has charged itself with having a “racially and culturally diverse student body” in Florida’s public university system.
“Who’s the one who’s stopping me and saying, ‘Oh, does I seem to belong here?” ” “There’s no doubt that people feel less safe, whether you have immigration status or not.”
The President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration is one of the organisations that provide guidance to school administrators as they navigate this new level of government scrutiny on American university campuses.
Group CEO Miriam Feldblum says the increase in enforcement will allow students to avoid school resources such as counseling or separating them from campus life.
“The university campus should be a safe place for learning, support and growth,” Feldbrum said. “Transforming them into an immigration enforcement site undermines our fundamental ability to promote a safe, inclusive, accidental, academic environment.”
___Kate Payne is a legional member of the Associated Press/Reports’ American State University News Initiative. American Report It is a non-profit, national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms and reports on secret issues.
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