Jewish on Campus Statement on Student Deportations

Since our founding nearly 5 years ago, we’ve remained steadfast: students should feel safe and included on campus, and Jewish students must be no exception.

We were disturbed by videos of masked, plainclothes officers approaching a Tufts student on the street, grabbing her arms, and forcibly taking her. And it’s because of our mission to make college campuses safe that we must speak out.

The primary cause of antisemitism on campus is not immigrant student visa holders. Grabbing students off the street and threatening deportation while wearing masks should not be misconstrued as a genuine action to improve campus safety. It is not. No student benefits from these tactics, Jewish students included.

Let us be clear: Antisemitism is a real, present threat to Jewish students on campus. That’s why we are here.

We must acknowledge that the students involved in these incidents were often a part of the very student organizations that promoted antisemitism on our campuses. We could not disagree with them more vehemently—surely they deserve condemnation, education, and action from the university to protect Jewish students. At the same time, nobody deserves to face deportation without due process. It’s not right.

We are committed to combating antisemitism on campus in all its forms—from swastikas to the exclusion of Israeli and Zionist Jews from campus life. We must vehemently advocate against antisemitism. And, we refuse to abandon our fundamental values of democracy and freedom in the process.