\n<\/p>\n
Brian Sandoval, former Republican governor and president of University of Nevada at Reno, is standing up for the university\u2019s undocumented student support program, despite threats of an investigation from the federal government.<\/p>\n
Photo illustration by Justin Morrison\/Inside Higher Ed | Cheriss May\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images | Brycia James\/iStock\/Getty Images\u00a0<\/p>\n
Centers and programs for undocumented students are caught in a politically precarious moment after the Department of Justice called for an investigation of the University of Nevada at Reno\u2019s undocumented student services. Immigrant students\u2019 advocates say the move marks an escalation in the Trump administration\u2019s ongoing crackdown on higher ed benefits for these students. And they worry campus programs supporting undocumented students might pre-emptively scale back or close altogether.<\/p>\n
In a letter late last month, DOJ officials directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to investigate the Nevada university over UndocuPack, its support program for undocumented students.<\/p>\n
According to the letter, the DOJ had received reports of the university\u2019s \u201cefforts to assist illegal immigrants\u201d by providing referrals to on- and off-campus resources, student aid, and academic and career support, including helping students find \u201ccareer opportunities that do not require applicants to provide a Social Security Number.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are referring this matter to the Department of Education to investigate whether UNR is using taxpayer funds [to] subsidize or promote illegal immigration,\u201d the letter read.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment; Inside Higher Ed<\/em> received an automatic out-of-office message citing the government shutdown.<\/p>\n But UNR is pushing back. Brian Sandoval, a former Republican governor of Nevada and the university\u2019s first Hispanic president, responded with a forceful defense of the program.<\/p>\n He stressed to students and staff that the UndocuPack program offers supports to all students, regardless of citizenship status, and uses no federal funds. He also emphasized that several state-funded scholarships don\u2019t take immigration or residency status into account; the university doesn\u2019t dole out state or federal aid to anyone ineligible.<\/p>\n \u201cThe University has remained in compliance with federal and state law, as well as the Nevada and United States Constitutions regarding adherence to federal and state eligibility requirements for undocumented students for federal aid and scholarships,\u201d Sandoval wrote. \u201cIn addition, we have made good, and will continue to make good on our commitment in ensuring a respectful, supportive, and welcoming environment on our campus where all our students have access to the tools they need for success.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the university plans to respond to the proposed investigation \u201cthrough the appropriate legal channels.\u201d<\/p>\n The threat to UNR brings fresh worries for undocumented students\u2019 advocates, who say it\u2019s the latest in a string of federal efforts to curb public higher ed benefits for such students. <\/p>\n The Justice Department has already sued five states over policies allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, successfully quashing state laws in Texas and Oklahoma after their attorneys general swiftly sided with the federal government. Over the summer, the Education Department announced it would investigate five universities for offering scholarships intended for undocumented students, claiming such programs violated civil rights law. The department also ended Clinton-era guidance that allowed undocumented students to participate in adult and career and technical education programs in response to Trump\u2019s February executive order demanding that \u201cno taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.\u201d <\/p>\n Diego S\u00e1nchez, director of policy and strategy at the Presidents\u2019 Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, said going after UNR\u2019s UndocuPack program is \u201cpart of a broader effort by the administration to intimidate colleges and universities that seek to serve undocumented students.\u201d But it also takes the campaign a step further, \u201ctargeting any form of campus support for undocumented students,\u201d including academic and career services. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a pattern of escalating attacks via different avenues of law.\u201d<\/p>\n The DOJ\u2019s letter cites the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which bars undocumented immigrants from many public benefits, but S\u00e1nchez maintains that \u201cno court has ever interpreted PRWORA to bar universities from offering support offices, mentoring resource centers for undocumented students.\u201d<\/p>\n Those kinds of supports for undocumented students exist at colleges and universities across the country. A 2020 study found at least 59 undocumented student resource centers on campuses nationwide, mostly in California but also in other states including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez worries that colleges and universities could modify or scrap perfectly lawful programs out of fear after seeing the DOJ chide UNR for such common supports. He also expects the Trump administration to target more programs like UndocuPack.<\/p>\n UNR feels like \u201ca test case,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Gaby Pacheco, president and CEO of TheDream.US, a scholarship provider for undocumented students, said other colleges and universities with undocumented student supports are already weighing what to do in response to the developments in Nevada.<\/p>\n \u201cDo we duck and hide and lay low so that we don\u2019t get picked on, or do we stand together with others and potentially become a target of this? It\u2019s a question that a lot of people and institutions\u00a0\u2026 are asking themselves,\u201d Pacheco said.<\/p>\n She worries canceling or minimizing undocumented student support programs will send those students a message\u2014\u201cthat they don\u2019t belong.\u201d And she doesn\u2019t believe trying to lie low or scale back programs will deflect federal attention. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is just month nine into this administration. We still have a full three more years to go,\u201d she said. And the administration seems like it plans to \u201ccontinue full force until, in essence, there are no policies left where undocumented students have access to higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brian Sandoval, former Republican governor and president of University of Nevada at Reno, is standing up for the university\u2019s undocumented student support program, despite threats of an investigation from the federal government. Photo illustration by Justin Morrison\/Inside Higher Ed | Cheriss May\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images | Brycia James\/iStock\/Getty Images\u00a0 Centers and programs for undocumented students are caught<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[4780,16438,393,395,1415,81,3474],"class_list":{"0":"post-27553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-nevada","9":"tag-renos","10":"tag-student","11":"tag-supports","12":"tag-targets","13":"tag-trump","14":"tag-undocumented"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A \u2018Test Case\u2019<\/h2>\n