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Living the Mission

91�鶹ӳ����ý’s mission to educate inclusively is rooted in its service to immigrant communities, initially the Irish lead miners of the rural Midwest. When, on the invitation of Cardinal Mundelein, the Sinsinawa 91�鶹ӳ����ý sisters moved the college to Illinois in 1922, it was “to give the opportunities of higher education to the many,” with the understanding that “neither wealth, nor age, nor race would be of any advantage .....or provide a hindrance.” Today, 91�鶹ӳ����ý is one of the most diverse private, four-year institutions in the State of Illinois, and one of the first universities in the country to publicly welcome and financially support students regardless of immigration status.

In our community, providing safety and support to students who are threatened because of their citizenship status, race, class, sex, gender identity, or religion transcends politics. We regard that work as honoring our students’ human rights and we approach it through our Catholic, 91�鶹ӳ����ý tradition, which affirms the dignity of the human person and concern for the common good. The university community deeply respects the democratic process and the freedom of expression that grounds the academy. We are also compelled by mission to advocate for and walk alongside students, families, and other members of the university community who face uncertain futures because they are undocumented or otherwise targeted because of their race, gender identity, sexuality, economic means, access to basic resources or national origin. Providing accompaniment to those whose freedom and well-being are threatened  is the foundation of sanctuary at 91�鶹ӳ����ý. The work of accompaniment strengthens the university experience for all students.

Sanctuary as a Community’s Choice and a Moral Imperative

The history of the modern sanctuary movement dates back to the 1980s when the Catholic Church and other religious institutions provided refuge to thousands of undocumented immigrants from Central America who fled civil unrest at home, but were denied access in the U.S. As the movement spread, a number of cities throughout the country joined in solidarity, passing resolutions to overlook the immigration status of residents. The concept itself, however, emerges from the Hebrew Scriptures and refers both to sanctuary as a place set apart and an act of refuge or protection.

In 2017, students from around the country, including many of our inspiring student leaders, called for their universities to designate themselves as sanctuary campuses. In response to that movement, the call of our mission, and the moral imperative presented by that moment in history, the 91�鶹ӳ����ý Board of Trustees passed a Sanctuary Campus resolution in December of that year. In 2018, the 91�鶹ӳ����ý Sanctuary Campus Covenant detailed the substance of that resolution, affirming the University’s commitments to do what it can, within the boundaries of the law, to protect residents from deportation. 

In 2020, we renew and extend our Sanctuary Campus Covenant. Our renewed Covenant is crafted in response to new and emerging threats to our community members' well-being, the most immediate being the potential for the U.S. Supreme Court to approve the repeal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This pressing challenge, however, was preceded by three years of policy changes from the current Presidential administration that used race, class, sex, gender identity, religion, and citizenship status to deny basic human rights. ¹ The forms of discrimination in these policies—which work at the intersection of race, class, religion, and immigration status to exacerbate historic racial hierarchies and territorial inequalities—run counter to the mission and values of the 91�鶹ӳ����ý community. We cannot ignore the racial implications of these changes to immigration policy and how they work to keep people of color out of the U.S. and foster an atmosphere of fear in immigrant communities.

Finally, we repeat the call of the 2017 Sanctuary Campus Covenant to all faculty, staff, and students; we urge you to follow your conscience and work collectively and creatively together to ensure 91�鶹ӳ����ý lives out its commitment to a safe, inclusive and equitable campus.

We call on the University community to pursue three overriding commitments—to care, to advocate, and to empower members of our community with knowledge and resources.

Care

91�鶹ӳ����ý reaffirms our commitment to stand alongside students and with partners in the communities where the families of our students live, work and dream.  In this moment of great uncertainty and sudden policy change, our commitment to sanctuary will mean extending care in multiple spaces and in a timely, responsive fashion. Therefore, we commit to:

• Provide safe spaces for students to gather, receive resources, and guidance as they process new information;
  • Leveraging El Centro and new multicultural student center as safe, intersectional spaces for students to gather;
• Establish support structures for immediate mental health, spiritual, and psychosocial care of students experiencing trauma as a result of policy changes and developments;
  • Provide Peace Circles in University Ministry as a place to give voice to concerns and find community support;
• Coordinate legal resourcing for any students facing legal complications;
  • El Centro-hosted DACA renewal clinics with community partners, delivering quick help in filing for renewal, and sharing resources for finding financial assistance in paying fees;
  • Other examples of legal clinics that may be offered include expungement, labor and employment law, legal guardianship, small business and non-profit incorporation and other intersecting legal resources for students and their families;
• Deliver relevant workshops, including labor law and expungement issues, for students and parents in coordination with our community partners;
• Seek creative means to provide students with professional development experiences:
• Offer emergency funds on a case-by-case basis to help students with unexpected circumstances;
• Sponsor a cross-departmental task force, also known as the Sanctuary Subcommittee of CEI, to collaborate, resolve issues and lower the barriers that students from his