Activists at Columbia University are accusing the school of profiting off of “immigrant deaths” at “U.S. concentration camps,” and demanding the university cancel a contract with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to provide medical services and consultations.
“@Columbia is profiting off of mass incarceration and immigrant deaths at the U.S. concentration camps! @Columbia must cancel their $150,000 contract with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)! CBP IS NOT REDEEMABLE! CBP TORTURES AND KILLS BIPOC,” the Undocumented Students’ Initiative at Columbia University, also known as UndoCU, tweeted on July 2.
@Columbia is profiting off of mass incarceration and immigrant deaths at the U.S. concentration camps! @Columbia must cancel their $150,000 contract with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)! CBP IS NOT REDEEMABLE! CBP TORTURES AND KILLS BIPOC! https://t.co/YNzSCv6re5
— UndoCU (@undo_cu) July 2, 2019
UndoCU, which describes itself as a “formal undocumented student group at Columbia University,” has frequently criticized the school’s efforts to work with Customs and Border Protection.
Columbia’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness’ $150,000 contract with Customs and Border Protection for medical protocols assessing border crossers was signed in May, providing the agency with an office of physicians to provide emergency relief. Irwin Redlener, NCDP’s director, criticized immigration policy but defended Customs and Border Protection in a Washington Post op-ed.
“Before jumping to conclusions about who is responsible for these heartbreaking losses, there is a great deal to sort out, starting with the fact that federal agencies responsible for apprehending and assuming custody of people crossing the borders illegally are beyond overwhelmed,” Redlener wrote.
“It is in this unfathomable and unmanageable situation that the much-maligned (often unfairly) Border Patrol agents, with essentially no medical training whatsoever, are doing a thankless job that most of us would not consider taking on,” Redlener continued.
However, UndoCU student activists have accused Customs and Border Protection of deliberately torturing and killing illegal immigrants, subsequently releasing a petition calling for the cancellation of the agency’s contract with Columbia University.
“U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PATROL AND ICE ARE NOT REDEEMABLE. THESE AGENCIES TORTURE AND KILL PEOPLE OF COLOR INTENTIONALLY, NOT BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH FUNDS FOR MEDICAL SERVICES,” the petition proclaims, adding, “Thus, we demand for Columbia to cut ties with CBP.”
UndoCU’s latest petition to Columbia University is far from the first time the group has issued demands to the school related to illegal immigration. In March, the organization released a series of demands writing, “We seek to be a safe place for undocumented students.”
“WE DEMAND the university to release a new statement that declares Columbia a sanctuary, meaning ICE will not be allowed into the premises under any circumstance,” one of the demands reads, while another states, “WE DEMAND summer housing support for all undocumented students of all undergraduate schools.”
Additionally, the list demands “stipends for admitted students who reveal they are undocumented,” “a pledge to financially support all undocumented students” in legal proceedings and lawyer’s fees, and that the university “facilitate an event for undocumented students to meet each other and voice concerns.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to UndoCU regarding their activism efforts but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Mitchell Gunter (@rMitchellGunter) is a freelance journalist. He holds a civil engineering degree from Clemson University, and lives in Greenville, S.C.
