Over the past week, more than 50 professors moved their classes to churches, museums and online as part of a demonstration demanding that NYU increase its protections for international students and declare itself a sanctuary campus in the wake of a national crackdown on student visas.
The protest, called “Sanctuary Picket,” came after NYU administrators did not respond to two petitions urging the university to declare itself a sanctuary campus — meaning that it would never voluntarily share personally identifying information with immigration authorities. The premise of the demonstration was that if faculty moved from their regular classrooms to sanctuary spaces, noncitizen students would have stronger protections and be made aware of safe spots throughout the city.
“It connects us to a very long history of people in New York City who’ve been doing this work to protect migrant, noncitizen and international communities against unlawful deportation,” a CAS professor, who requested to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, told WSN. “It was a very important learning experience for students, and it provided an opportunity to connect us to organizations outside of the university that have strategies and resources for this kind of situation.”
NYU spokesperson John Beckman said in a statement to WSN that while the university is aware of community members’ concerns regarding the onslaught of student visa revocations, it is still mandating compliance with the faculty handbook, where members are “duty-bound to meet all their assigned classes at the place and hour scheduled.”
“NYU is deeply concerned about the well-being of its international students and scholars, and that is why we have been communicating with them and offering support, in many small group settings across the university through our Global Support Teams, and individually,” Beckman said.
He also reiterated that Campus Safety officers will only permit law enforcement officials — such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Department of Homeland Security officers — into the building if they have a search warrant or subpoena. Beckman added that NYU will not provide personal information of an NYU member unless legally required to do so.
The CAS professor said that the university sent professors an email denouncing their action and held a meeting Friday with faculty to further discuss the issue. They said that at the meeting, faculty pushed the university to delete surveillance footage — claiming that it had been used to wrongfully accuse students of engaging in violence — and personal information from sites such as Brightspace and NYU Engage.
She added that while NYU shares its protocols publicly, other universities have been more actively promoting them — such as posting “Know Your Rights” flyers around campus and on school social media accounts. Administrators have sent four universitywide emails regarding immigration since President Donald Trump took office, and more recently hosted a series of school-specific conferences about initiatives against federal crackdowns.
“NYU poured considerable resources into posters telling people to be polite. Where are the ‘Know Your Rights’ posters in every department and stickers in classrooms telling us who to call and what to do if a federal agent arrives at the door?” the CAS professor said. “This glaring absence is also one of the reasons we — faculty, students and staff — naturally feel that we must inform ourselves on how to respond to ICE, protect each other and create sanctuary.”
The term “sanctuary campus” was initially popularized after the Trump administration dismantled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2017. At the time, several universities — including the University of Pennsylvania, Portland State University and Reed College — declared themselves sanctuary campuses. Then-NYU President Andrew Hamilton issued a letter stating that he did not believe it was an effective approach.
An LS sophomore, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the sanctuary picket taught her more about immigration history in the city — something that she said she wouldn’t have gotten in regular classrooms. Another CAS junior, who requested to remain anonymous, agreed and said that it’s a great way for professors to pressure the university to bolster its support for international students without disrupting students’ learning experience.
“It felt like there was a lot of solidarity in the room,” the CAS junior said in an interview with WSN. “The university’s response has been weak — there hasn’t been a strong stance. There should be confirmation by the university that they can do everything to protect their students, so it’s been disheartening.”
Contact Amanda Chen at [email protected].
