Students at Johns Hopkins University are teaming up with a group of over fifty state advocacy and faith-based organizations to demand campus protections from immigration enforcement.
A small rally hosted by the coalition Wednesday comes amid a series of arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting Pro-Palestine students and professors nationwide. Just this week, the agency admitted to mistakenly deporting a Maryland father to prison in El Salvador, who the Trump administration now says they do not have the power to return.
Now, advocates are calling on Governor Wes Moore and state lawmakers to take emergency action — through executive orders or legislation — to block universities from sharing student data and cooperating with ICE.
“Students who speak out against their universities, speak out against genocide, are being targeted, doxed, sent death threats or deported,” said O.N., a Hopkins student representing Jewish Voices for Peace, using only their initials for safety. “It's unacceptable that the university won't put anything into writing to protect students.”
One focus of the rally was an email sent by Hopkins leaders to faculty in February telling them to not interfere in any ICE action on campus.
O.N. and other student activists speaking Wednesday called the memo “horrifying.”
“The administration seems like they're in a very sort of panicked place… where they're trying to do anything to placate the Trump administration, or at least, you know, not threaten any of their other funding more than it's already been threatened,” O.N. said. “And the fact that they're willing to prioritize funding over the very tangible threats to their students’ safety is horrifying.”
Hopkins announced last month that it will fire around 200 employees amid federal cuts, including close to $10 million lost in health-related grants.
O.N. said students advocates want university leaders to establish a “sanctuary campus,” meaning they cut all ties with ICE, put a hiring freeze on Hopkins’ private police force, and limit use of student surveillance.
In an emailed statement, a Hopkins spokesperson said administrators “share the very serious concerns arising from recent detentions of international students and scholars across the country.”
The spokesperson said policies emailed out last month — which advise faculty to contact public safety or legal counsel if an ICE officer tries to enter a building instead of interfering — are meant to prioritize protection.
“The federal government has stated it intends to enforce criminal laws regarding interference with federal officials, which can include felony charges,” the email read, “and we want affiliates to avoid the potential risk of individual federal criminal prosecution.”
But an anonymous Hopkins faculty member said university and state leaders need to do more to protect students’ right to free speech and due process.
“This is the time to have courage and act,” the faculty member said. “You need to stand up to bullies.”
Paul, a student representing the Hopkins Justice Collective, which organized continuous protests on campus last year, said the call to action is about more than student protection.
“This is bigger than academic freedom,” he said. “Now is the time to double down on our commitment to Palestinian liberation. Now is the time to double down on our call for divestment.”
In January, a committee of Hopkins faculty, students and trustees voted to not send the HJC’s request for divestment from Israeli-tied companies to the board of trustees for consideration.
But Paul said student activists won’t be deterred.
“This merely marks a new chapter in our fight for the humanity and dignity of all colonized people,” he said Wednesday. “No president, whether in the White House or at Johns Hopkins University, will change that.”
