Hundreds of faculty, students, alumni and community members from St. John’s University have signed an online petition calling on the university to immediately terminate a planned partnership with U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), citing ethical and cultural concerns.
Faculty members of St. John’s in Jamaica will deliver the petition, which has received 843 signatures, to the university administration in Newman Hall on Tuesday morning, demanding an immediate end to the partnership.
St. John’s announced on May 6 that it was partnering with the CBP’s New York Field Office to create the Institute for Border Security and Intelligence Studies, to be housed at The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies.
The two organizations will collaborate on a training program at St. John’s that will help CBP employees identify intelligence challenges while also helping students cultivate professional development opportunities, St. John’s said in a release.
However, hundreds of St. John’s faculty and students have criticized the move, arguing that the partnership violates the university’s Catholic and Vincentian mission to serve poor, immigrant and socially marginalized people. A total of 81 faculty across St. John’s six schools and university libraries have signed the petition.
“We recognize the importance of research and education in fields related to national security. However, this partnership with CBP presents grave ethical, legal, and cultural concerns,” the petition states.
Petitioners stated that they are responding in the context of the “halted U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, mass deportations, and faculty and students being detained from college campuses and denied due process.”
They accused the university of announcing the new partnership with CBP without any input from faculty or students at St. John’s, noting that the announcement came days before graduation.
“CBP poses a threat to safety, privacy and the civil liberties of the university community and its neighbors in Jamaica and the greater New York City metropolitan area,” petitioners stated in a press release.
Petitioners alleged that New York City residents are “particularly vulnerable” under the Trump Administration, citing an American Civil Liberties Union report that CBP has expanded its authority to conduct search and seizure without a warrant 100-miles from the border. They said the measure makes New York a “constitution-free zone.”
“Refugees and migrants are our colleagues, classmates, neighbors, friends and family members. They are us,” the petition states.
Petitioners are calling for “more transparency and accountability” regarding existing partnerships with federal immigration agencies.
St. John’s University spokesperson Brian Browne said in a statement that the partnership between the university and CBP was no different than other partnerships that St. John’s pursues with public and private organizations.
Browne said the partnership would help St. John’s students develop practical skills and access professional networking opportunities that would improve their career prospects. He said the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between St. John’s and CBP would build on the on the Homeland Security undergraduate and graduate programs currently on offer at the university.
“The Homeland Security undergraduate and graduate programs at St. John’s offer solution-oriented approaches, exploring essential partnerships and providing a deep understanding of the complex issues in the homeland security field,” Browne said in a statement. “The MOU between CBP and St. John’s aims to do that for our students.”
Browne said the partnership would provide students with access to varied professional resources of CBP’s New York Field Office. He said the partnership would provide internships, intelligence experts to serve as guest speakers, student mentors and advisers to assist faculty.
“This MOU is no different than countless others that St. John’s pursues with public, private, and non-profit organizations to enhance the 200 diverse programs of study offered by the University,” Browne said in a statement.
CBP has not yet responded to a request for comment.
