College students and religious leaders gathered at the Johns Hopkins University campus on Wednesday afternoon to call on Gov. Wes Moore, Attorney General Anthony Brown and state legislators to protect students from federal immigration officers.

Their petition, circulated by the Council on American Islamic Relations and signed by dozens of religious and community groups, asks Moore to introduce an executive order and the Maryland General Assembly to pass emergency legislation to prohibit the state’s colleges and universities from sharing students’ private data with federal agencies without a valid warrant signed by a judge.

Students at Hopkins, alongside activists and religious leaders, said the action was prompted by recent reporting from The Baltimore Banner about a memo that advised employees not to intervene if federal law enforcement officers detained a community member.

“We decided to hold this news conference here outside of Johns Hopkins because this university has instructed its faculty to not intervene if its students are abducted by ICE,” said Zainab Chaudry, the director of CAIR’s Maryland office.

The memo from Johns Hopkins’ legal team instructs employees not to obstruct the officers’ activities or block their movement in any facility. Additionally, employees are instructed not to notify or hide the person who is being sought by federal law enforcement officials.

A handful of students and one faculty member surrounded Chaudry, holding signs that read “Come for one, face us all.”

Ariana Katz, a rabbi at the Hinenu Baltimore synagogue near the Hopkins campus, chided university leaders for “deciding to cooperate with ICE.”

“To our neighbors, and our students, we are with you,” Katz said. “Hopkins, you have the chance to do the same.”

A spokesperson from Hopkins said that, in accordance with long-standing policy, the university doesn’t provide information about the immigration status of community members unless required by law.

“If federal immigration officials present a valid warrant or specific court order, the university will comply with such orders,” the spokesperson wrote. “We share the very serious concerns arising from recent detentions of international students and scholars across the country.”

The governor’s office and attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday evening.

While several Hopkins students spoke, all declined to give their full names, instead going by their initials or just their first names.

The activists also spoke about the lack of support they feel from Maryland’s congressional delegation, citing a letter signed by dozens of U.S. representatives expressing concern over the detention of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. Only one Maryland congressperson, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, signed the letter.

A second letter, demanding the release of Khalil, wasn’t signed by any representatives from Maryland.

The petition comes as students around the country with lawful student visas and immigration statuses have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Students at the University of Alabama, Tufts University, Georgetown University, Columbia University and the University of Minnesota have been detained in the last two weeks.

The Hopkins Justice Collective, a group of students, affiliates and alumni that supports Palestinian causes, sent a letter to Hopkins leadership last week demanding that the university be a “sanctuary campus” that protects “noncitizens, undocumented and vulnerable members of the Hopkins community.”

The letter asks Hopkins to prohibit ICE from being on campus and to refuse compliance with federal law enforcement officers. Members of the Hopkins Justice Collective said the university has not yet responded to the demands.

Hopkins is under federal investigation for antisemitism complaints and is expected to be visited by the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, the same group that stripped Columbia University of $400 million in federal funding, this year.

A committee at the university decided this year not to divest from Israel.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Friday that he had signed more than 300 letters revoking the visas of students, visitors and others that would force their expulsion from the United States. He also ordered officials to scour social media accounts of those applying for student visas.

Rubio said he had been signing letters daily to revoke visas since late January when he took office. He said he has told the Department of Homeland Security to detain students, or recent graduates, for deportation for their opposition to American foreign policy.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.