To the Pace Community:
Several events in recent weeks—the national climate regarding immigrants, a debate here at Pace University regarding a Career Services announcement, the upcoming oral arguments in the US Supreme Court case regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—have prompted anxiety and even fear among some students. I want to thank the students and faculty whose voices prompted me and my leadership team to consider and address their concerns, and I want to take this opportunity to highlight and reaffirm our commitment to our students.
To be clear: I firmly believe that all of us at Pace are part of one family. We work best, and we learn best, when we come together as one Pace. In this challenging time, we must continue to work together, learn together, and support one another.
To that end, I want to restate our policies in support of our DACA students.
First and foremost, we are committed to the safety and security of all our students. We stand in support of the DACA program as a path to education for immigrants. The program has served Pace, our community, and our country well. We support immigrant students and their right to achieve their dreams and be a part of the next generation of leaders. And we are members of the
Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration
, which advocates for DACA students.
Pace staff, including our Safety and Security officers, are not charged with enforcing federal immigration law and do not make inquiries into immigration status. We do not voluntarily disclose the immigration status of any of our students, and in fact that is not information we collect or record. We will disclose information to a government entity only if we must comply with a legal obligation, such as a legally issued warrant or subpoena or a statutory mandate, and even then we will not volunteer any information beyond what is required. We offer information about DACA and resources for DACA students
here
.
We are also taking some additional steps.
I am pleased to announce that we will shortly be forming an Advisory Committee on Student Services. This committee, which will include student and faculty representatives in addition to student affairs staff, will serve as a resource to ensure that those offices have the benefit and insight of diverse and inclusive voices as they work to fulfill their mandates.
And on Tuesday, November 12, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, together with students and professors from the departments of Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies, is hosting a
Know Your Rights
panel discussion in New York City. It will feature speakers from the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs and Catholic Charities Department of Immigration and Refugee Services. Further announcements will be forthcoming, and I encourage you all to attend.
Sincerely,
