RUSA Report February 12: Assembly passes bill calling for immigration enforcement “safe zones” on campus

In a meeting Thursday, the student assembly passed a bill calling for University administration to designate private “safe zones” on campus, where immigration enforcement officers may not enter without a warrant.

Titled “The Education Without Borders Bill,” the bill commits RUSA to work with UndocuRutgers, an immigrant student advocacy group, on a protocol on how the University should handle Immigration Control Enforcement coming to campus.

The protocol will receive input from legal advisors, as well as impacted students, faculty, and staff. The protocol is to be delivered to University administration once completed.

The bill also resolves that RUSA is concerned for student safety with nationwide deployments of federal agents, and commends Undocu and other student organizations for the advocacy for student safety.

For further actions by administration, the bill calls for the University to release a statement committing to protect undocumented students and faculty, to reaffirm its duty to keep student data and information private under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

RUSA also asks administration to release a statement affirming that the University will use its powers to protect students who protest immigration enforcement, including potentially limiting law enforcement that would arrest students for demonstrating.

The bill was authored by Destiny Rosales, sexual violence education chair and co-president of Undocu, and sponsored by several student groups, including Undocu, United Black Council, and the Latin American Student Organization.

The bill saw significant support, with students commending the support for undocumented students.

Public Relations Chair Samrine Shoha said the bill will fulfill the assembly’s duty to help underrepresented students.

“I’m supporting this bill because I think it’s doing a lot of work for the undocumented students who don’t have a voice,” Shoha said. ”As a student government we should be…the voice of all students here at Rutgers.”

Some members spoke against the bill.

SAS Class of 2029 representative Rahul Rabinowitz argued the bill and the actions it calls for could lead to unprecedented and extreme pushback from the Trump administration, which he called “corrupt” and their actions “unconstitutional”. Rabinowitz continued that the bill does not accomplish much on its own, referring to it calling for many changes and mandating only a few, so it is not worth potentially provoking federal retaliation.

“If this bill passes, it could then possibly cause the Department of Education to cut even more funding for the school than it already has.” Rabinowitz said to the assembly. “I like the vision. I just don’t like how it’s being executed.”

Cook Campus Representative Isaiah Thompson argued against Rabinowitz, saying RUSA should pass the bill in spite of possible retaliations from the Trump Administration.

“I don’t think that’s a reason for us to just give in and not try to do things to help people,” Thompson. “We need to stand up as a community and protest those that are most vulnerable.”

Rabinowitz also said the bill was especially provocative because it asks the University to take what he called “illegal” measures, claiming the Department of Homeland Security recently changed its policies in handling “safe zones” like the ones described in the bill. Rabinowitz was likely referring to DHS’s recent removal of a policy restricting arrests by DHS officers in certain areas, including churches, schools, and hospitals.

Presenters of the bill rejected Rabinowitz’s claims, explaining that the legal precedence of the described safe zones were based on rights to privacy granted by the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, not the arresting policies of the DHS. The presenters also claimed the bill was vetted by legal advisors.

Multiple supporters of the bill disputed Rabinowitz’s claim that the described safe zones would be illegal, while other supporters said they would not be dissuaded by the bill, even if it went against the policies of the DHS. Some encouraged the assembly to partake in civil disobedience if needed to protect undocumented students.

College Ave Campus Representative Sofia Praga said that it was the assembly’s duty to represent undocumented students, and that the failure of such duties for the sake of abiding by unjust laws has dire social consequences.

“The last time everyone took a blind eye to the law, 11 million people died,” Praga said, likening the Trump administration’s immigration policy to the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. “We’re all here to represent the student body and support the student body, and this is what we’re doing about it.”

Off-Campus Representative Johnathon Sebbag motioned to remove the clause commending the work of Undocu and other student organizations for helping undocumented students, telling the assembly he disagrees with the group’s mission statement and does not want the assembly to support the group’s actions. The motion failed after 4 members, including Sebbag, voted for the clause to be removed and the overwhelming majority of the assembly voted that it remain.

During debate, Sebbag spoke against the clause calling for the University to affirm its willingness to restrict the arresting power of RUPD officers that might arrest protestors.

“I don’t want to endorse crippling the RUPD’s ability to handle protests,” Sebbag said. “ I think that’s ridiculous.”

Later in the meeting, Sebbag and other opponents of the bill neglected to second a motion to remove the clause regarding limitations to RUPD’s arresting power.

The bill passed with 29 votes for, nine votes against and two abstaining.

The “Education Without Borders Bill” comes as pressure mounts from multiple other community voices press for University administration to designate safe zones or declare Rutgers a sanctuary campus. A petition to designate safe zones by the Rutgers chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America with over 3,000 signatures was delivered to the Board of Governors earlier this week, and hundreds of students called for similar demands at a demonstration in New Brunswick last month.

RUSA also heard a bill to adjust the assembly’s standing rules, notably in regard to office hours and the censure of assembly members.

If passed, the bill will remove caps on office hours for all executive committee members. Currently, executive committee members may hold a maximum of three office hours each week, and the RUSA president, vice president, and treasurer may hold a maximum of five office hours each week.

The bill also proposes a change to the assembly’s definition of a censure to include three levels of severity, ranging from a simple formal complaint to a call for impeachment.

The bill was written by Parliamentarian Vinya Lingamneni and Internal Affairs Chair Adam Halperin as the result of an ad-hoc committee, which convened last semester to make the language in the assembly’s standing rules more clear and help the assembly work operate more efficiently.

The assembly will vote on the bill to change the standing rules at a meeting Thursday, February 20.

The full meeting minutes for the February 12 meeting can be found here.

Noah Choi contributed to this report.