NMSU remains against declaring campus a sanctuary

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — New Mexico State University is rejecting requests that the Las Cruces campus take on sanctuary status for students who are in the country illegally.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reported that officials declined formal proposals from the Associated Students of NMSU and the Faculty Senate to establish a sanctuary declaration.

Proponents of NMSU being a sanctuary campus say it would protect students and faculty who are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients — people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. They say it would also help international students feel safer.

NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu said in a campus-wide email late last week that the school’s stance on the matter has not changed.

Arvizu also said the school already has other policies in place that protect students who don’t have legal immigration status. They include not making proof of citizenship a factor in admission and not releasing private information without consent or a legal mandate. Furthermore, campus police and security cannot detain someone solely because of suspicions about their citizenship.

Santa Fe Community College remains the only New Mexico school to declare itself as a sanctuary campus.