Harvard will not label itself a sanctuary campus, President Drew G. Faust said at a faculty meeting Tuesday.
The meeting was held after students rallied in support of adopting the label, the Crimson reported.
Faust said the term “sanctuary campus” holds no legal significance, and “could actually further endanger undocumented students at Harvard," according to the Crimson.
She added that the designation “offers no actual protection to our students,” and might instead offer "false and misleading assurance.”
Faust said she has met with Congress members and federal officials to discuss protections for undocumented students.
Faust's statement comes just under a week after Penn President Amy Gutmann sent an email to students saying "Penn is and has always been a 'sanctuary.'"
Princeton also recently announced it would not call itself a sanctuary campus.
“This concept has no basis in law, and that colleges and universities have no authority to exempt any part of their campuses from the nation’s immigration laws," President Chris Eisgruber wrote in a statement on November 28.
He added that the label would put undocumented students at greater risk by “suggest[ing] that our campus is beyond the law’s reach.”
Penn is the only Ivy League institution that has deemed itself a sanctuary campus. However, most have issued statements that they would work to ensure the continued implementation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
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