Unauthorized immigrant students are mobilizing themselves to issue demands about which commencement speakers are unacceptable to them. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson was announced as the School of Foreign Service’s 2016 commencement speaker, much to the discomfort of some.
Apparently, Johnson fulfilling part of his job description is enough to produce claims of disrespect and fear from students.
According to The Hoya, “the university plans to use Johnson’s visit to increase dialogue over issues of freedom of expression and immigration.”
The group UndocuHoyas wrote a letter to the school’s dean telling the university to rescind its invitation, citing Johnson’s enforcement of illegal immigration policy.
Hemley Ordonez, who graduated from the school in 2008, has circulated a petition with 538 signatures as of Monday afternoon. She blames Johnson’s department for the death of her aunt crossing the border in 2005.
“I still hold the Department of Homeland Security, and now Secretary Jeh Johnson, responsible for having torn countless families apart due to increased deportations, and in my experience, a death sentence,” she wrote.
Ordonez goes further in claiming that Johnson “shouldn’t receive an honorary degree from my alma mater because of the human rights abuses his department is responsible for every day.”
There is no indication that Johnson will be seeking out undocumented students and their family members to round them up for deportation at the graduation ceremony. Ordonez noted that “graduation is supposed to be a safe, welcoming environment for students and families who have worked so hard to graduate, not a hostile or uncomfortable one.”
The letter from UndocuHoyas took a similar tone, “strongly implor[ing] the university to rescind Secretary Johnson’s speaking invitation and take meaningful action to ensure that graduation is an inclusive and safe experience for all members of the Georgetown community.”
The school has made steps to assist undocumented students, which those who are disappointed admit:
As some students demand their idea of a “safe space” be honored, others see it as a free speech issue. Reed Howard, who is a student at the school, launched his own petition with 368 signatures as of Monday afternoon. He called the letter “a dangerous attempt by students to silence speech.”
Howard has “friends who are undocumented, and I have great respect for the many challenges they have overcome to reach this moment in life.” He “realize[s] that there is a very real, personal dynamic to this discussion.”
But, his petition noted:
Howard also calls it “laughable and impossible” for students to demand that the speaker “cannot or should not be a ‘controversial figure.'” He told The Hoya he would “be ashamed if Georgetown fell victim to this assault on free speech sweeping college campuses.”
Johnson is not the only department secretary who has been accused of not doing enough for undocumented students. Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California system, recently proposed a $25.2 million plan for financial aid for undocumented students. The proposal might have come as a result of complaints from undocumented students last semester.
