Please see the following message from Antioch University’s Chancellor Groves:
Dear Colleagues:
Over the past couple of years, there have been a number of times when I felt it imperative that Antioch University speak to its values in the face of actions being taken by our government. This is one of those occasions. The removal of migrant infants and children from their parents and the internment of children and babies separated from their mothers and fathers is outrageous, unAmerican, and morally unconscionable. We’ve all seen the images of crying babies and children in cages and fenced enclosures as their parents were being processed by ICE officers. There are no laws that require this inhumane treatment.
The family separations began earlier this year after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new “zero tolerance” policy of referring all border crossings for federal criminal prosecution, which leads to children being separated as their parents are sent to jail to await trial. Heretofore, children and parents awaiting trial were kept together in detention centers. Most of them face misdemeanor “unlawful entry” charges for which no jail time would typically be imposed. Some of them are lawfully applying for asylum and may never be prosecuted as “illegal aliens.” Yet, the children are now quite literally incarcerated while their parents are separately detained awaiting an immigration hearing or a trial that could take months.
There are now thousands of children in internment camps and other facilities. Many of them have been transported by commercial airlines to locations as far away as NYC while their parents await their hearings or trials in Texas. Some of them have now been separated from their parents for over a month at an age when maternal and paternal nurturing is crucial to their healthy development. While the policy of separation was discontinued by Executive Order yesterday, there are no plans to release and reunite the approximately 11,000 children already in custody.
Yesterday, several commercial airlines, including American Airlines, and United Airlines, announced that they were family-centered companies who would not be complicit in the government’s actions to separate children from their families. They both communicated with the federal government that they were not to be engaged to transport children who are being relocated by ICE. Several days ago, thousands of College and University professors sent an open letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security arguing that the Family Separation Policy was “nothing less than government-sponsored child abuse.”
Antioch University is a historically progressive institution in pursuit of a better world. We pride ourselves in continually being on the right side of history for the past 166 years. We now STAND with the companies, institutions, and individuals who stand up against this policy. As the proud Chancellor of Antioch, and as a horrified American citizen, I encourage all of us to make our voices heard and to STAND up for the values we share. Here are just a few of the possible ways to help.
Don’t feel helpless. Take action.
1. Donate Directly to the Kids
Baby2Baby and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) set up a baby registry at Target to send bundles of essentials like diapers, wipes, shampoo and soap directly to immigrant children.
But most charities say the best way to help is through financial donations, not product donations. Well-vetted groups that provide humanitarian aid to migrants include Pueblo Sin Fronteras, an organization with two shelters along the border of the Sonoran Desert, and Border Angels, a volunteer coalition that provides water, free legal help, and emergency services.
2. Support the Lawyers Fighting for Them
In just one Facebook campaign, more than $15 million has been raised for The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), the largest immigration services legal nonprofit in Texas. By donating to RAICES, you support every aspect of legal aid for immigrant families. The group aims to locate and reunite every family and child affected by this policy and to provide legal services, including posting bail money, to every detained immigrant waiting for trial. Most of these trials are for misdemeanor “unlawful entry” charges. They also aim to pay off immigration bonds to free asylum seekers from ICE custody, letting them reunite with their children. In addition to the Facebook initiative, you can also donate directly through their website.
If you want to donate your time, help interview migrants at the border. If you live in a border area, have legal or paralegal experience, and speak Spanish, Mam, Q’eqchi’ or K’iche’, sign up to volunteer with the Texas Civil Rights Project. The Legal Aid Justice Center also looks for volunteers who live in the Virginia area and can help with translation or administrative tasks.
3. Donate to Several Places at Once
ActBlue splits your donations between 12 different groups. The nonprofit fundraising platform for liberal causes has set up a page that benefits Al Otro Lado, The Florence Project, Neta, Innovation Law Lab, Fuerza Del Valle, The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, We Belong Together, United We Dream, The Women’s Refugee Commission, The ACLU, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, Human Rights First, and La Union de Pueblo Entero. You can donate any amount, and split it however you want between the groups. The campaign has raised more than $1.6 million so far.
4. Call Your Senator and Say This Exactly
There are currently several bills being proposed to fight back against child separation at the border. The ACLU urges people to call their senators to advocate against the Trump administration’s current policies. You can check out their website and fill out a form, and the ACLU will connect you to make the call. They’ll get you in touch with a congressional staffer, and then they recommend you say, “Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME] and my zip code is [YOUR ZIP]. I’m urging the Senator to denounce Trump’s family separation policy and use all of Congress’ authority to stop it.”
5. Participate In a Protest
On June 30, various advocacy groups are organizing protests across the country against child separation. The main Families Belong Together rally will take place in Washington, but there are other demonstrations happening in cities across the U.S. that day. Check out where and when to protest at MoveOn.org.
As Antiochians, we STAND for social, economic and environmental justice. I invite you to STAND with us.
William R. Groves. J.D.
Chancellor
Antioch University
900 Dayton Street Yellow Springs, OH 45387-1623
Chancellor (a) antioch.edu
Having witnessed the horrific events of last weekend by torch-carrying white nationalists at the University of Virginia and in the city of Charlottesville, VA, it’s appropriate that citizens, institutions, and communities condemn and rebuke the hate-based, racist rhetoric of extremists groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi organizations, and the violent actions of their followers. Another innocent person has been senselessly murdered as she marched in support of civil rights and equality. Heather Heyer is the latest victim of a long history of domestic terrorism, violence, and murder in this nation by white supremacists.
It is often the case that such Klan events target America’s colleges and universities. They are the melting pots of America and the bastions of democracy and equality. Antioch was the focus of a 2004 Klan march in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Our reputation as champions of racial equality is well known. In 1856, Antioch became one of the first universities in America to admit African-American students to learn side-by-side with white students. In pre-civil war America, this was nothing less than revolutionary. It would be over 100 years before federal laws would require the same result.
We have been fierce advocates for racial, ethnic, and gender equality and social justice since our inception 165 years ago. And for that reason, we have been a target of white nationalist groups.
It’s important, therefore, that we speak to our values and confront evil when we see it.
We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the ideology and actions advocated and perpetrated by white nationalists, white Supremacists, and neo-Nazi organizations and individuals that resulted in the tragedy in Charlottesville this past weekend.
We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the hate-filled racist ideology and violent actions that are part of our historical legacy as a nation, part of the fabric of our current culture, and which are extending their reach with profoundly disturbing vigor.
We call upon our President and national leaders to unequivocally condemn these movements of bigotry and intolerance and to strongly and unequivocally renounce any support from the alt-right movement, to specifically condemn and rebuke the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, and other white nationalists, white supremacists and neo-Nazi organizations, and advise them that their organizations and members will receive no support or sanctuary from this administration and that their criminal actions and domestic terrorism will result in swift and harsh federal prosecution.
We call upon our President to purge from the White House any and all White House advisors and staff currently or formerly associated with the white nationalist or white supremacist movement, including Steve Bannon, co-founder of the alt-right, white nationalist website, Breitbart News; Steve Miller, a follower and mentee of white supremacist Richard Spencer; and Sebastian Gorka, who has extensive ties to anti-Semitic hate groups such as Vitez Order. The American people have a right to know that no such individuals are on the public payroll, or that they have the ear of the President in developing public policy.
We call upon the President to listen to the advice within his own political party to unequivocally retract his rhetoric normalizing the Ku Klux Klan or other white nationalists, white supremacists, or neo-Nazi organizations, as well as the rhetoric excusing the actions of their members. A young woman has been brutally murdered by a white supremacist thug. Antioch University stands against nationalism and white supremacy.
Dear Antioch Community:
As you know, on Friday, January 27, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that bars all foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days, and indefinitely halts immigration of all refugees fleeing the brutal civil war in Syria. It also gives Christians fleeing persecution priority over Muslims, inserting a religious test into our refugee program decisions.
Antioch University has a number of students who are from the countries identified in the Executive Order. Those countries include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. While the order contains a few exceptions for those traveling on diplomatic visas, the list of exceptions does not include those traveling on temporary visas such as student H-1B visas or F-1 and J-1 visas. In fact, even travelers with permanent resident status (green cards) were detained at airports over the past weekend, and the order may apply to those with dual citizenship (citizenship in a listed country and another non-US country).
At least four federal courts have issued temporary injunctions enjoining enforcement of much of the Executive Order. The Department of Homeland Security, for example, was stopped from deporting travelers holding green cards or proper visas. Nonetheless, this sudden change in immigration policy has substantially disrupted operations for many American universities and foreign travelers. As a result, we offer the following specific guidance:
1. Students, scholars, faculty and others who might be affected by the order are strongly advised to defer any travel plans outside of the United States until there is further clarity of the impact of the order; this includes travel by car to neighboring countries such as Canada or Mexico.
2. If you must travel, we urge you to first consult with legal counsel. If you have family who were intending to travel to the United States to visit, they will need similar legal advice from an immigration lawyer. The fact that you have lawfully been issued a U.S. visa, or even a green card, may not be sufficient to ensure entry or re-entry into the United States.
3. I have asked our University Counsel, Rebecca Todd, to prepare a list of immigration lawyers in each of our communities. Some may be among the hundreds of lawyers that volunteered to provide pro-bono services to stranded travelers over the weekend. Please contact our Office of University Counsel at 603-283-2436 for this contact information.
I would like to emphasize that Antioch University supports all of our students, faculty, and employees who are foreign nationals. The University has a long history of being a leader in fostering a diverse and rich educational environment. Even prior to the Civil War, Antioch was one of the first American colleges to enroll African-American students to learn side-by-side with white students. It was one of the first colleges to employ female faculty at the same rank and salary as male counterparts. And we have admitted international students throughout our history. Our educational mission has always been focused on fostering social, economic and environmental justice and for protecting and promoting the human rights of all people, regardless of race, religion, gender, color, ancestry, national origin or other immutable characteristics. It was not chance or stroke of serendipity that led Coretta Scott King to Antioch. It was Antioch’s reputation as champions for human rights that caught her attention.
