A petition signed by hundreds of Fresno (Calif.) Pacific University faculty, students and alumni asks President Richard Kriegbaum to publicly pledge to protect undocumented students.

The petition was created Dec. 1 and in one week collected about 700 signatures.

Tim Neufeld, associate professor of contemporary Christian ministries, helped write the petition, which requests the FPU president and board refuse to release information regarding students’ immigration status and also not comply with any efforts to deport such students.

“In light of president-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program . . . we believe our institution must act immediately to protect the safety and well-being of those in our community who currently receive the benefits of DACA,” states the petition.

Kriegbaum said in a Dec. 5 statement that FPU’s “support for DACA students has not changed” and noted that the petition requesting a formal declaration had not been presented to the FPU board. The statement also says FPU’s “long-term goal is to have a positive influence on the new presidential administration.”

FPU is a Hispanic-Serving Institution — a designation given to colleges and universities participating in a federal program to assist first-generation, majority low-income Hispanic students, with undergraduate full-time enrollment that is at least 25 percent Hispanic students.

Concrete actions

The petition comes after interim senior vice president and provost Dale Simmons sent a message to DACA students and the FPU community before Thanksgiving that said FPU seeks to accept each member of its Christ-centered community as a unique learner with purpose and value.

“We wish to assure our DACA students that we stand with God, so we stand with you,” he said in the message, which cited Deut. 10:19-20, Lev. 19:34 and Isaiah 40:8.

The petition says its signers are grateful for Simmons’ “affirmation that FPU stands with DACA students, but we believe that concrete actions are needed to demonstrate solidarity.”

Other actions encouraged by the petition include requests that FPU publicly reaffirm its commitment to being a place of higher education specifically for undocumented students, expand financial aid for such students and take tangible measures to become better informed as a community about immigration and the lives of immigrants.

“Our peace and prosperity is tied to the peace and prosperity of our undocumented brothers and sisters at FPU,” states the petition. “Our faith is intricately linked to our response to those in need, requiring and compelling us to provide protection for the vulnerable and shelter those who wander.”