Spanish Petition: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mZRPYX0QEMciYGP0YWmp_men5Niva2pAlwXlQMspncg/edit?usp=sharing

Dear President Harrison Keller and UNT Administration,

In lieu of the recent enactment of federal and state policies targeting people with uncertain immigration statuses, we– a coalition of students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members– are hereby asserting multiple demands to be implemented by the University of North Texas administration in order to ensure the safety and livelihood of the people on its campuses, regardless of immigration status.

From the National Immigration Law Center: On January 20, 2025, the President of the United States rescinded a policy that protected certain areas- such as churches, schools, and hospitals- from immigration enforcement, replacing it with an unreleased directive that gives Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents unbridled power to take enforcement actions in any of these spaces using so-called “common sense.” Protecting sensitive locations from immigration enforcement is essential to ensuring all our community members can access basic services and support without fear—the policy’s rescission constitutes an attack on immigrant communities’ wellbeing and undermines safety for all. The rescission is especially pernicious in its attempt to make immigrants feel unsafe even in spaces that are the core of a civil society.

This directive comes alongside an order to increase the ICE arrest quota from “a couple hundred people per day” to 1,200-1,500 people per day. As a result, arrests have skyrocketed, and the maintenance of this quota poses a large and looming threat to students, faculty, and staff in schools and universities. It is well-documented that ICE relies on intimidation and manipulation tactics to manufacture consent for detainment, whether or not they are in possession of a judicial warrant or subpoena. This increase in activity also explicitly endangers U.S. citizens who are people of color, as multiple false arrests predicated on racial profiling have already occurred.

UNT has not yet provided an adequate response addressing the aggressive and pertinent policies detailed above. Multiple Denton-area Independent School Districts have released statements reassuring families that their campuses would comply with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and confirming that they do not maintain the immigration status of any students. The issue was also addressed immediately by UNT’s sister campus, Texas Woman’s University, who released the following statement to the press: "Texas Woman’s University follows relevant laws, including those that ensure any federal enforcement actions on campus adhere to due process, such as the requirement of a valid warrant when necessary. Furthermore, TWU is bound by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, which prohibits schools from releasing students’ education records or personally identifiable information — unless the request is pursuant to a valid judicial order or subpoena”. TWU also emailed all students and staff with links to resources and the announcement of a new program promoting inclusivity by displaying student-created messages of hope and unity around campus.

Considering the affirmation of student rights by surrounding schools, it is at least concerning and more so blatantly antagonistic of the University of North Texas administration to, when asked for comment, provide no response of substance or reassurance, and instead suggest that the press and public conduct an open records request.

Unfortunately, there is further proof that the university is aware of its neglected responsibility. On February 6th, 2025, an email message was sent to UNT’s Faculty Senate members (not all faculty) stating that the UNT Police Department will work to inform “outside law enforcement agencies” of the university’s procedures and policies in order to conduct their business. The full statement is as follows: “When any outside law enforcement agency comes to campus, UNT Police will work to inform them of our procedures and policies so they can conduct their business in a way that respects our campus community. This has been a long standing practice in Denton and is the same for our Frisco branch campus. UNT police is the designated point of contact when an outside agency is on campus. A faculty or staff member should call UNT police for assistance at 940-565-3000 if a representative of any outside law enforcement agency comes to their office or classroom.”

This statement tells faculty that their job is to act as a connection to law enforcement in the event that an outside law enforcement agency such as ICE comes to their classrooms, which is an inappropriate responsibility for stewards of education. This statement also immediately defers responsibility to the police, despite the police having no jurisdiction over potential civil violations involving immigration status. This emboldens the narrative that undocumented people are criminals, which is not true and an incredibly damaging and dangerous narrative to perpetuate. Beyond our concern of the immediacy of UNTPD involvement, no specific procedures or policies are listed for how UNTPD would handle the presence of an external law enforcement agency on campus.

As a public institution whose values are to “champion a people-first approach to building relationships and community” and “foster an inclusive environment of respect, belonging, and access for all,” we expect the administration of UNT to uphold their promises and protect their students from these dangerous and dehumanizing situations. We as members of the University of North Texas community cannot execute our core values of inclusivity and community-building if our fellow students, faculty, staff, and community members fear for their lives due to lack of support from their school or place of employment. As a member of The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, we call on President Harrison Keller to uphold his values and duties to protect students, staff, and faculty of all citizenship statuses.

In accordance with UNT’s core values and responsibilities, we the undersigned demand the following:

1. The University of North Texas administration release a statement affirming that the university system will comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and that it does not maintain immigration statuses of students,

2. Require consistent faculty and staff training on FERPA and Title IX with a focus on information pertaining to immigration status,

3. Instruct Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to remove themselves from any UNT campus if the officers are not in possession of an official, timely/non-expired warrant or subpoena signed by a judge and issued by a federal or state court (NOT administrative warrants from Department of Homeland Security on forms I-200 or I-205.) ICE must not be present at our educational institutions for the purpose of intimidating, investigating, or interrogating people, so as to allow all students, staff, and faculty to attend class and work without fear,

4. Release a statement with precise procedures and policies that UNTPD will use and obey if outside law enforcement agencies such as ICE were to come onto campus. Given that immigration enforcement is not within the jurisdiction of UNTPD, ensure that other entities within the university are involved in these procedures and that UNTPD are not given the sole power of determining if ICE has a valid judicial warrant,

5. Protect international students with student visas from deportation if they choose to exercise free speech (participating in protests, voicing political opinions),

6. The UNTPD deprioritize detaining individuals on campus for nonviolent, victimless crimes such as tickets, speeding, or drug possession,

7. Remove Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) representatives from all UNT-sponsored career fairs and hiring events,

8. Investigate and reprimand any individual that threatens immigrant students, LGBTQ+ students, or students who express support for immigrant communities through digital communications, social media posts, flyers, or other means. Results of these investigations shall be communicated publicly.

This is not the first time a coalition of concerned members of UNT have come together to request that the university protect their students from ICE intimidation and threats of deportations. In 2016, a petition much like this one demanded that the wellbeing of undocumented students, LGBTQ+ students and staff, and other marginalized communities at UNT be protected and fostered by administration. While some demands were met, there are multiple unmet demands from the previous petition sustained above, such as the restriction of facilitation of ICE’s investigative activities and condemning and reprimanding hate speech towards marginalized populations. With the resurgence of attempts to target and attack undocumented people by our current president, now more than ever we need our university leaders to adopt measures that are in the best interests of our UNT community. We support the core values that the University of North Texas operates on, and we hope to see our demands are met on the basis of belonging and access for all.

Organizers:

UNT Latinx Hispanic Student Union
UNT Eagle Dreamers
UNT Rho Beta chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma Sorority
UNT League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
UNT Hispanic Student Association
UNT Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority
UNT Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity
UNT Latines Unidos en Amor
UNT Puerto Rican Student Association
UNT Brazilian Student Association
UNT Feminist and Womanist Society
UNT JOLT
UNT Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity
UNT Kappa Delta Chi Sorority
UNT Delta Alpha Sigma Multicultural Sorority
UNT Young Democratic Socialists of America
DFW Anti-War Committee

Sources:

https://www.presidentsalliance.org/about/?fwp_post_search=Keller
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/01/26/ice-arrests-raids-trump-quota/

https://dentonrc.com/education/what-denton-area-schools-are-sharing-with-families-and-residents-in-wake-of-trump-s/article_9b49e4ae-ddd6-11ef-af4c-430f4f8a8d22.html

https://www.nilc.org/resources/factsheet-trumps-rescission-of-protected-areas-policies-undermines-safety-for-all/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/4/advocates-warn-trumps-threat-to-deport-pro-palestine-students-harms-all