On Sanctuary: What Is In A Name?

Map created by Aparna Parikh based on information compiled by Xavier Maciel. Some argue that using the term “sanctuary” is misleading given that no campus can truly provide protection from federal immigration authorities, and that declaring a sanctuary may in fact heighten the danger faced by undocumented students by indicating that such students are present on a particular campus. As Michael Olivas, a law professor and current president of the University of Houston, Downtown who has spent his life defending undocumented students has put it in Inside Higher Ed, sanctuary “has no legal meaning and the admonitions are vague and impossible to implement, which will only frustrate people more.” “Some argue that using the term 'sanctuary' is misleading given that no campus can truly provide protection from federal immigration authorities,” So why hold on to the sanctuary terminology if it has a confusing history, no legal definition and promises more than it can deliver? Sanctuary is an idea that has convinced 28 college and university presidents to issue statements of support for undocumented students and led the presidents at Portland State University, Reed, Wesleyan, Drake and Pitzer to take the added step of declaring “sanctuary” campuses. As Chief Tighe O’Meara recently posted on the Ashland Police Department Facebook page, “I offer this up to clarify a concern that has been brought up, not as a political statement, but as a statement of fact, and of re-assurance to the community: The entire State of Oregon is a ‘sanctuary’ state.” What Chief O’Meara is saying is that Oregon state law prevents local police from doing the work of federal immigration officers.