Loyola has a decision to make – and a task force has been assigned by President Cole for discussion and deliberation.
As freedom of speech for college students who are legal residents here is under attack, a debate surrounding how universities should go about enforcing judicial warrants when delivered by immigration customs enforcement and other law enforcement agencies.
Loyola, as a private school, requires any outside law enforcement that wishes to arrest or detain persons on our campus to present a warrant listing probable cause and signed by a judge. Now while the ease of obtaining a warrant by law enforcement can be argued, it is pertinent to mention that as a school we are not simply complying with any action taken by the local police. But if they do have a warrant, we would allow them to apprehend people off of our campus.
Some argue this should be stopped and Loyola should be a full sanctuary campus and not comply with any warrants. This would mean a couple things. 1) That Loyola would be in contempt of court. 2) That we would be at risk of losing federal funding in the form of federal financial aid which would put many students at risk.
While students would still receive financial aid through scholarships and grants which are funded from our endowment, they would NOT be able to take out direct subsidized or unsubsidized federal loans which many students rely on. This is the course of action which the federal government has used against other universities dealing with similar issues. Whatever decision Loyola comes to, student voices matter here more than ever.
When it comes to whether Loyola complies with these warrants or not, it may not just affect international students or students who do not have full citizenship because Loyola’s compliance with warrants to arrest international students for participating in protests has been put into practice twice in New York City recently, and sets a questionable precedent.
It sets the precedent that protest, especially for college students who are a long time staple at the forefront of social movements, is a punishable offense. And if it can be extended to international students, and non-citizens, at what point will Loyola stop allowing law enforcement to detain students for exercising their first amendment rights? If students who are citizens begin to be detained for protest and free speech, will Loyola decide to no longer comply with judicial warrants? Should Loyola declare itself a full sanctuary campus and risk our students losing access to federal student loans which are a source of financial aid for so many?
Whatever decision President Cole’s assigned task force comes to, it is a decision that will decide the answers to major questions and responses to accusations that the students have towards not just Loyola’s administration but also local, state, and federal government.
