Protesters line up against proposal that KOs funding for sanctuary colleges
CONCORD >> Erica Brignac donned a pink pussy hat and held a sign reading, “Schools Should Be Safe Havens” as she joined a group of Widener University students outside the district office of state Rep. Stephen Barrar, R-160 of Upper Chichester, on Thursday.
The group of six were opposing Barrar’s support for HB14, legislation introduced in January that would restrict portions of state funding to colleges and universities that adopt sanctuary status, protecting undocumented immigrants and prohibiting ICE officers campus access. The action outside Barrar’s office was one of seven occurring across the state Thursday from Erie and Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and Drexel Hill.
Although Barrar was out of the district for the day, the group presented his staff with a letter asking him to withhold his support for HB14.
“Our representatives are coming in and threatening the safety of some folks on our campuses which then sends a threat to all vulnerable communities,” student James Cersonsky said. “We’re here to keep our campuses together.”
Widener junior Nick Dulepski said he was standing for the 263 students from 37 countries at Widener.
“It’s morally wrong,” he said of the proposed bill. “I love our international community at Widener. They haven’t done anything wrong. They’re just trying to earn an education.”
Reached by phone, Barrar explained why he is supporting HB14.
“If we have college presidents and university presidents deciding that they are not going to follow the law ... then, it’s wrong,” he said.
Barrar said law enforcement would not be arbitrarily going through dormitories; they would be looking for people who have broken the law.
An issue that has arisen under the Trump administration is what are the parameters for defining law-breaking.
Brignac expanded
“If someone happens to do a violent crime, then sure, they should be prosecuted,” she said. “Now, they’re saying that maybe it’s a crime to just be there.”
Barrar said that issue would have to be discussed and potentially addressed in an amendment.
“That’s something that will be debated in the legislation,” he said, adding that funding for educational programs is untouched by this bill.
He said he agreed that identity theft is a large problem in the United States and he believed that using a fake Social Security number or someone’s driver license number is breaking the law.
Barrar said it is time to rein in the idea that it’s OK to break the laws we don’t agree with.
If universities planned to do so, he said, “Then don’t expect the state to send checks for your pet projects either.”
He said he planned to reach out to those who left their names at on that issue. his office.
For Brignac, the issue had personal ramifications.
Both of her parents are Holocaust survivors and fled Germany as refugees.
She said the legislation was in alignment with President Donald Trump’s vision.
“This is just one way on a small local level that his administration is weaving its way into our local politics,” Brignac said. “To be able to send ICE officers and disrupt classes and remove people who are causing no threat, that’s just wrong. We’re a nation of immigrants. I’m pretty sure that immigrants on a college campus are there probably most likely studying and doing the best to further themselves.”
She said HB14 was a ripple effect of the divisive politics Trump espouses. “Let’s scapegoat the immigrants, let’s scapegoat the people from the Muslim community, Hispanic people, Jews,” Brignac said is Trump’s mentality. “It’s just more rhetoric of hate and this is just one small way that legislators are pushing that agenda and I think it’s wrong.”