District Commits to Protecting Students + Employees

Reposted from East Bay Times, January 11, 2017:

“The Contra Costa Community College District is now a sanctuary for its students, many of whom fear deportations in what may soon become a more repressive environment for undocumented immigrants and their families.

At a meeting Wednesday night at the Diablo Valley College Performing Arts Center, the college board voted 6-0 to grant “sanctuary” status to the district and its three main campuses — DVC, Los Medanos College in Pittsburg and Contra Costa College in San Pablo — plus satellite campuses in San Ramon and Brentwood and its Martinez headquarters…

The district will withhold students’ personal information from federal agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and retain existing financial aid policies for undocumented students. The resolution approved Wednesday night makes several assertions, including that the district will protect students “who meet the minimum requirements for admission, regardless of immigration status.” No personal student information, the resolution says, will be released without a judicial warrant, subpoena or court order, or that student’s permission.

For board members, district students and faculty and community members alike, the idea is to keep school a safe place from the specter of deportation forces and threats to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“We cannot tolerate fear — not from a foreign government, and certainly not from our own,” district board member Tim Farley said.”

Read the full resolution ‘Reaffirming Support of Contra Costa Community College District Students and Employees’ here.