Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Illegal immigrants at the University of Maryland College Park have a new advocate. The University is appointing a staffer to help illegal immigrants and protect them now that concerns are growing amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown.
The assignment comes after Protect UMD, a coalition of student organizations, demanded an advisor for illegal immigrants last semester.
University spokesman Katie Lawson issued the following statement: “As part of the university’s ongoing commitment to undocumented students, we continue to consider ways to offer support. We are assigning a UMD staff person to serve as a coordinator to address the immediate needs of the undocumented student population, and we will continue to assess the need for staff support moving forward. In addition, the university is formalizing an undocumented student work group that relies on expertise from units across campus, and we are providing web resources to make the latest information readily available.”
The appointment doesn’t sit well with Help Save Maryland director Brad Botwin. The grassroots organization is dedicated to preserving Maryland from what they call the negative effects of illegal immigrants.
“The University of Maryland has their hand out every year to Annapolis requesting more funds. They seem to be wasting it on positions like this. It’s just quite shocking to me,” said Botwin.
Botwin said they want the university to publicly release the cost of the appointment and to say how many illegal immigrants are enrolled in classes.
He added there are plenty of minority students who need assistance, and they should be the ones getting it, not illegal immigrants.
Protect UMD also asked for the university to be designated a sanctuary university.
The Diamondback reports President Wallace Loh sent an email to students that said it wasn’t necessary to give the campus that official designation because the university already follow policies set out for sanctuary campuses.
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