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COMMENTARY: RUPD must stop collaboration with ICE

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Dear President Robert L. Barchi,

We are Rutgers faculty who write you today with a deep sense of concern for the broader community and future of our University. We have learned that on Sept. 29, the Rutgers University Police Department (RUPD) picked up a suspected undocumented person in New Brunswick, made multiple excessive charges (including a duplicate charge), notified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of its detention of this individual and held the person for seven hours until ICE arrived to pick up and detain this person themselves. This action by the RUPD is a direct violation of your repeated assurances that Rutgers was to and would remain a “safe haven.” Any illusion that Rutgers is a place where individuals will not be targeted on the basis of immigration status is shattered once representatives of our community, entrusted with ensuring campus security, collaborate with ICE.

As faculty, we are lucky to encounter the energy and talent of Rutgers students every day. We experience their hopes and fears. The opportunity to be their teachers and mentors is both a privilege and a responsibility. Our future needs them — and they need Rutgers to be, in your words, a "safe haven." Our students are diverse. They include the poor, the first in their family to enter college, students of color, students of all gender identities, students of different sexual orientations and students from many religions and students from immigrant communities. They include the undocumented and those whose families are undocumented. For Rutgers to succeed in its obligations to New Jersey and to the nation, we must support our entire community without reserve.

You pledged publicly at the Board of Governors meeting of Dec. 6, 2016 — as well as in emails sent to the Rutgers community on Nov. 15, 2016 and Dec. 8, 2016 — that Rutgers would indeed be a "safe haven." This pledge included a commitment to the RUPD not serving as an agent of a state-sponsored deportation apparatus. We as faculty agreed with this commitment, and in turn trusted you with its enactment. We understand the implementation of this commitment to include not only the protection of our own students, but also the avoiding of any Rutgers institutions (most especially the RUPD) acting in a manner inconsistent with it in our larger community of New Brunswick.

When you say Rutgers is a "safe haven," that the RUPD is not a deportation force and that it will not detain people for ICE, then those words must be backed by action to have meaning. We call upon you now to speak loudly and forcefully by issuing clear directives to the RUPD in writing, and share with our entire community that they are not to inquire about or report any individuals’ immigration status, and that they must not detain people for rendition to ICE. In this alarming moment, such a decisive statement is critical to ensuring that your stated commitment to our campus as a "safe haven" holds true.

Rob Scott, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Ana Pairet, Associate Professor of French, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Anna Haley, Associate Professor of Social Work, Rutgers School of Social Work

Dan Battey, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, Rutgers Graduate School of Education

Troy Shinbrot, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers School of Engineering

Carlos Decena, Associate Professor of Latino and Caribbean Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Whitney Strub, Associate Professor of History and Director of Women’s & Gender Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Steven Diner, University Professor of History, Rutgers-Newark

Karen Caplan, Associate Professor and Chair of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Belinda Edmondson, Professor of English and African American & African Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Audrey Truschke, Assistant Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Beryl Satter, Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Rose Cuison Villazor, Professor of Law and Chancellor's Social Justice Scholar, Rutgers Law School

Tim Raphael, Associate Professor of Arts, Culture and Media, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Kornel Chang, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Timothy Stewart-Winter, Associate Professor of American Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Lyra Monteiro, Assistant Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Mary Rizzo, Assistant Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Melissa Valle, Assistant Professor of African American & African Studies, Sociology, and Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Mark Krasovic, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

James R. Jones, Assistant Professor of African American Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Siobain Duffy, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Sean Mitchell, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Ulla Berg, Associate Professor of Anthropology and  Latino and Caribbean Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Rudy Bell, Distinguished Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Robert Boikess, Professor of Chemistry, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

David Hughes, Professor of Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Rebecca Givan, Associate Professor of Labor Relations, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations

John W Taylor, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

James Livingston, Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Andrew Goldstone, Associate Professor of English, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Barbara Cooper, Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Andy Urban, Associate Professor of American Studies & History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Juan Cartagena, Part Time Lecturer in Latino & Caribbean Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Leah DeVun, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Mara Sidney, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Dominique Raboin, Teaching Assistant in Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Alysse Moldawer, Teaching Assistant in Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Omar Al Dewachi, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Camilla Townsend, Distinguished Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Laura Lomas, Associate Professor of American Studies, English, Women's and Gender Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Carla Yanni, Professor of Art History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Aldo Lauria Santiago, Professor of Latino and Caribbean Studies and History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Erin Vogel, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Belinda Davis, Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

John Keene, Professor of English and African American and African Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Temma Kaplan, Distinguished Professor of History, Emerita, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick 

David Foglesong, Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Laura Weigert, Professor of Art History,  Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

François Cornilliat, Distinguished Professor of French, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Myriam Alami, Assistant Teaching Professor of French, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Carolina Alonso Bejarano,  Teaching Faculty in Latino and Caribbean Studies at Rutgers, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Brian Murphy, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark 

Mayte Green-Mercado, Assistant Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark 

James Gray Pope, Distinguished Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School

Will Brucher, Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations Department, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations

Chuck Haberl, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Lynn Festa, Associate Professor of English, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Christopher P. Iannini, Associate Professor of English, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Colin Jager, Professor of English, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Zaire Z. Dinzey-Flores, Associate Professor of Sociology and Latino & Caribbean Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Nelson Maldonado-Torres, Professor of Latino and Caribbean Studies and Comparative Literature, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

David Kurnick, Associate Professor of English, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Dana Luciano, Associate Professor of English, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Robert W. Snyder, Professor of Journalism and American Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark 

James Goodman, Distinguished Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark 

Jon Cowans, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark 

Barbara Foley, Distinguished Professor of English, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark 

J.C. Lore, Clinical Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School

Alan Hyde, Distinguished Professor and Sidney Reitman Scholar, Rutgers Law School

Roger Clark, Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers Law School

Arthur B. Powell, Professor of Mathematics Education,  Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Gabriela Kuetting, Professor, Director of the Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Beth Stephens, Distinguished Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School

Elise C. Boddie, Professor, Henry Rutgers University Professor, & Judge Robert L. Carter Scholar, Rutgers Law School

Sahar Aziz, Professor, Chancellor's Social Justice Scholar,  Director of the Center for Security, Race and Rights, Rutgers Law School

Liliana Sanchez, Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Genese Sodikoff, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Jody Miller, Distinguished Professor, Rutgers School of Criminal Justice-Newark

Amy Bitterman, Assistant Clinical Professor, Rutgers School of Law

Virginia Yans, Distinguished Service Professor Emerita, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Trip McCrossin, Assistant Teaching Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Janet Golden, Professor Emerita, History, Rutgers College of Arts and Sciences-Camden 

Joseph G. Rosenstein, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Eugenia Etkina, Distinguished Professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Ravit Duncan, Associate Professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Tasha Austin, Assistant Professor of Practice, Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Amy Lewis, Assistant Professor of Practice, Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Nichole Garcia, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Beth Rubin, Professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Catherine Lugg, Professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Matthew Mayer, Associate Professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Drew Gitomer, Rose & Nicholas DeMarzo Chair in Education, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Karishma Desai, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Mary Shaw, Professor of French, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Marcy Schwartz, Professor of Spanish and Department Chair, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick 

Lorraine McCune, Professor of Educational Psychology, Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Gerald A. Goldin, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Education, Rutgers Graduate School of Education, Mathematics and Physics, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences

Lauren Kelly,  Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Nicole Mirra,  Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Florence Hamrick, Professor, Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Marie Chevrier, Professor of Public Policy & Administration, Rutgers College of Arts and Sciences-Camden 

Michael Sierra-Arévalo, Assistant Professor, Rutgers School of Criminal Justice-Newark

Charles M. Payne, Henry Rutgers Professor of African American and African Studies and Director, Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Zahra Ali, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

José Camacho, Professor of Linguistics, Department of Spanish and Department of Linguistics, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick 

Evie Shockley, Professor of English, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Paul Herman, Lecturer, Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Ruth Anne Koenick, Part Time Lecturer, Graduate School of Education and School of Social Work-New Brunswick

Benjamin Justice, Professor and Chair, Educational Theory, Policy, and Administration, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Tanja Carmel Sargent, Associate Professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Sylvia Chan-Malik, Associate Professor, Departments of American Studies and Women's and Gender Studies, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick 

Frank Edwards, Assistant Professor, School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers School of Criminal Justice-Newark

Milagros Nores, Co-Director for Research NIEER, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Gary D. Farney, Associate Professor, Department of History, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark

Jack Tchen, Professor,  Clement A. Price Chair of Public History & Humanities, Director, Price Institute, Rutgers University-Newark

Ruth Feldstein, Professor Department of History, Program in American Studies Rutgers School of Arts and Science -Newark

Kathleen Riley, Teaching Faculty in Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Allen Howard, Professor Emeritus of History,  Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Parvis Ghassem-Fachandi, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick

Allison H. Friedman-Krauss, Assistant Research Professor, National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick

Alisa Belzer, Professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Education-New Brunswick


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