Please email administrators and tell them why you support our demands outlined in the letter below.

President Darryl Pines, Provost Jennifer Rice, Chancellor Jay Perman, Associate Vice President Ross Lewin:

We are a coalition of faculty, staff, undergraduate students and graduate workers. We believe the University of Maryland’s response to the federal government’s assault on higher education and immigrant scholars has been deeply inadequate. The University’s desire to remain “under the radar” comes at the expense of current students and workers, and in defiance of its own stated mission that “providing a supportive climate for their [faculty, staff, and student] well-being is a top priority.”

UMD has failed to provide public, transparent communication to international students and workers regarding its responses to the March 19th letter from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) requesting information on Chinese UMD affiliates as well as the recent cancellation of student visas/statuses. It has failed to respond to the abduction of students at other Universities who have been accused of “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. We have seen no condemnation by the University of the abductions of international scholars by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), no information about what the University will do should we face a similar situation on our campus, and no proactive actions to publicly assure students, faculty and staff that UMD will protect them and uphold their rights.  

As such, we demand that the University of Maryland:

1. Refuse to comply with Section 3 of the expanded Executive Order 13899 which calls for universities to “monitor for and report activities by alien students and staff… for ensuring that such reports about aliens lead, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to investigations and, if warranted, actions to remove such aliens”

2. Refuse to provide personally identifiable information about UMD affiliates to the federal government (in their capacity as employees, not just students). In the event the university receives any request from the federal government targeting any group of individuals in the UMD community, inform the affected individuals of the request and provide them a copy of the response.

3. Refuse to cooperate or share information with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE, or any other federal agencies for the purpose of targeting, detaining, or deporting UMD community members.

4. Provide institutional and financial support for students, staff, and faculty who are targeted, denied entry, and/or deported and take proactive measures to prevent such violations of privacy, due process, and civil liberties. This support might include but is not limited to:

1. Immediately notifying students and workers of changes in their legal status

2. Keeping international students enrolled in the event of visa revocation, legal status termination, detention, and/or deportation and allowing these students to continue their studies and research remotely even in cases where enrollment is contingent upon funding through graduate teaching appointments or fellowships

3. Waiving or adapting any requirements which require individuals to be on-campus to work or complete their degree. If there are technology restrictions due to location, UMD should explore and allow alternative options.

4. Waiving or covering any financial requirements that arise due to loss of employment as a result of visa revocation, legal status termination, detention, and/or deportation (e.g. tuition remission for GAs)

5. Providing and paying for legal counsel for students and workers whose visas and/or status have been revoked

6. Working swiftly and affirmatively–through lawsuits, if necessary–to stop the termination of legal status of students and workers without due process

5. Publicly reaffirm the university’s commitment to academic freedom, inclusivity, and the protection of all members of its community, regardless of national origin, race, ethnicity, religion, or gender expression

6. Provide direct, campus-wide communication on the University’s response to the request for information about Chinese nationals at UMD, exactly how UMD is supporting international scholars who are facing visa and/or status revocations, the actions of ICE on other campuses, and whether UMD is prepared for similar actions here. Individual contact with affected students is no substitute for open and clear communication because the former leaves the rest of our community in the dark and in fear.

The current silence of the UMD administration emboldens those in the federal government who are targeting immigrants, historically marginalized groups, and anyone who speaks out against their radical agenda. Your inaction stokes fear within the campus community and demonstrates that according to your calculation, the risk of standing up to the Trump administration outweighs our well-being. Undergraduate students, graduate workers and students, faculty and staff are this University. Without our tuition dollars and labor, there is no University of Maryland, College Park. We refuse to watch our University capitulate to power and allow the most vulnerable among us to be targeted by a federal government that seeks to silence us.

We look forward to swift action on the part of UMD.

Respectfully,

United Academics of Maryland-UMD

UMD Graduate Labor Union

College Park Mutual Aid

17 for Peace and Justice

Young Democratic Socialists of America, UMD chapter