Last Updated on January 28, 2025
After President Donald Trump’s first week in office resulted in mass deportations of illegal immigrants, University of North Carolina faculty members have chosen the side of “resistance”.
The deportations began after the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the Biden Administration’s guidelines which previously restricted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from enforcing immigration laws.
During a UNC-CH Faculty Council meeting, Chancellor Lee Roberts acknowledged the unsettling nature of the uncertainties regarding immigration policies faced by immigrant UNC faculty. Roberts expressed empathy towards their anxiety and concerns during this challenging time.
Associate Professor Allison Schlobohm from the Kenan-Flagler Business School voiced concerns about a recent Department of Homeland Security directive permitting ICE to operate within locations that were previously considered safe havens, such as schools and hospitals. Schlobohm highlighted the need for UNC to address how they would navigate this change, especially considering that other universities like UC Berkeley and UCLA have already taken steps to avoid complying with ICE directives.
Schlobohm emphasized that implementing proactive measures to guide faculty and non-citizens on ways to navigate interactions with ICE was crucial. She referenced the position taken by the sheriff of Washtenaw County, who refused to comply with ICE directives, arguing that they were requests dependent on local cooperation rather than enforceable laws. In response to queries about handling situations where faculty were asked to identify undocumented students, Chancellor Roberts indicated that UNC would comply with any law enforcement requests, including those relating to immigration status.
Barbara Stephenson, UNC’s vice provost for global affairs and chief global officer, suggested that her office had previously outlined protocols for dealing with ICE, and that it would be disseminated to faculty.
History Professor Miguel La Serna spoke up, expressing sympathy for the fear and uncertainty illegal immigrants were facing – blurring the lines between legal international students and those here illegally. He urged university leadership to offer reassurances to DACA students, claiming that complying with law enforcement requests could result in violations of student privacy laws, such as FERPA. “What our DACA students need right now are reassurances from the leadership of this university that they will be protected,” La Serna claimed.
FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is a federal statute that governs the access to and sharing of student education records. It gives parents the right to access their child’s records, request changes, and control disclosure. Once a student turns 18, their consent is typically needed for disclosure. Professor La Serna did not explain how FERPA protects illegal migrants from the consequences of breaking immigration laws.
Chancellor Roberts reassured the council that the university would seek legal counsel when interpreting conflicting laws. “I’m not going to try to issue an interpretation on the fly. I’m well aware of the anxiety and we’re going to continue to try to serve our immigrant students and scholars as best we can,” he said.
Of the roughly 3,000 international students attending UNC-Chapel Hill, it is not clear what percentage of them are in the U.S. illegally. The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and the American Immigration Council estimates that around 3,000 “undocumented students” graduate from high school each year in North Carolina. So far, there have been no indications from the Trump administration that legal international students are the target of deportation efforts. Still opponents of immigration law enforcement consistently conflate legal and illegal immigration to argue their point.
