Since the November election, I have received many questions from members of the Evergreen community concerned about potential changes in federal immigration policy in 2017 and especially how those changes might affect students who are undocumented, who are covered under the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, or who have family members in those situations.

I have joined with college presidents in Washington state and around the country in calling on the new administration to maintain the DACA program. There are many questions about the new administration’s plans and policies to which we don’t yet know the answers. We may have to live with this uncertainty for some time. But we can be certain about some things, and there are commitments we can make.

Undocumented students are welcome at Evergreen. This statement is more than rhetoric. Evergreen and the state of Washington have programs in place that enable qualified undocumented students to become eligible for in-state tuition. Although federal policy excludes undocumented students from federal financial aid programs, all students, regardless of immigration status, can apply for college and state financial aid (including the State Need Grant).

Prospective students applying to Evergreen are considered for admission without regard to their immigration status. We will continue to follow this admission practice.

We take seriously the privacy of student records. Any student record that might identify an undocumented student will be destroyed at the earliest allowable date, and will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality provided under law until that time.

Evergreen’s police officers do not and will not detain, question or arrest people solely because they lack documentation. Nor do our officers inquire about immigration status when they detain, question or otherwise interact with people. Olympia and Thurston County law enforcement officials follow the same practice.

Evergreen remains committed to providing a safe, secure and welcoming learning community that protects the privacy and human rights of all students. I am grateful to the students, staff, and faculty who have organized lectures, seminars and “know your rights” workshops.  Over the holiday break, we will create a website to collect and report information and local resources for undocumented students. In the meantime, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project has published a community advisory regarding DACA.

These practices and related actions are often described as policies that provide sanctuary for students. I have chosen not to refer to Evergreen as a sanctuary because I believe doing so would convey a promise of legal protections for students that none of us can ultimately guarantee. Regardless, we will stand firm in supporting all of our students regardless of their immigration status to the fullest extent possible.