Thank you, Chair Huebsch and members of the board.
As of yesterday morning, we began following the breaking news that immigration enforcement will be phased out in the next week.
Still, Minnesota is hurting. Our state—and especially the Twin Cities—have been bearing the weight of so much heartache.
Federal agents have been present in our neighborhoods and in communities across Minnesota.
Students, faculty and staff have told me that they are afraid.
To all those who have shared your concerns and requests with me: I hear you.
We are listening carefully, and we are taking action.
As we continue to monitor the news and its impact on our University, we remain focused on four key areas.
First, across the University of Minnesota, we are inviting people to come together around our shared values of inclusion, community, belonging and safety.
Examples include:
The healing circles hosted in Duluth,
The University’s Bakken Center programming—including the recently launched “You Do Matter Minnesota” site
And free events focused on rights, resources and resilience like community dialogues and know your rights sessions.
Similar to how we’ve seen Minnesotans supporting their communities recently, the University community is also banding together to meet the moment.
We are grateful to the Office for Student Affairs, International Student and Scholar Services and the Office for Equity and Diversity for all they are doing to make these offerings possible and support our community.
Second, we are advancing security measures to further prioritize safety and well-being for the entire University community.
This work includes securing buildings and providing guidance on how to respond if approached by a federal agent on campus.
We are also offering legal representation at no cost to students on all of our campuses through Student Legal Service.
Third, we are empowering local leaders and colleges to support our students who have concerns around in-person learning.
I am so appreciative for the dedicated advisors and student support teams who are working hard to help identify individualized plans for students to safely participate in classes and other campus activities—which we know is critical for quality learning as well as restorative social engagement.
Additionally, as part of our effort to meet the needs of all students, we are providing no-cost prescription home delivery to international students—thank you to Boynton Health and International Student and Scholar Services for your partnership here.
We also offered airport pickups at the beginning of the semester and continue to make Gopher Rideshare available—this is an app accessible to everyone with a University of Minnesota internet account.
Fourth, we are communicating what we know when we know it.
To date, there have been no confirmed reports of federal immigration enforcement activity on any of our campuses.
Even so, we continue to closely monitor and respond to federal actions—including Executive Orders and policy changes that affect higher education.
As we do so, we are updating our Rapid Response website in real time, ensuring our community has accurate information, accessible resources and practical support.
This includes a daily update sharing if there have been any confirmed reports of federal immigration enforcement activity on campus.
In addition to updating our public platforms and communicating regularly with students, faculty and staff, we are also sharing messages directly with parents and families so they have information and support too.
While we realize this University can’t solve all the problems our community needs to solve, we can support our community by inviting people to come together around shared values, advancing security measures, empowering local leaders to support our students and communicating what we know when we know it.