Rutgers University is asking its students to call their elected officials to lobby on behalf of immigration legislation that is aimed to protect Dreamers, young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents.
According to Campus Reform, Rutgers President Robert Barchi emailed the entire student body and asked for its help in getting the bill passed.
The email asks students to "support and consider co-sponsoring H.R. 496/S.128, bipartisan legislation known as the BRIDGE Act that would extend the safety and security of DACA to undocumented students," according to Campus Reform.
"Taking action to show your support is easy — it will take no more than a minute or two of your time. The program automatically identifies your appropriate elected representative from your home address. The letter is pre-written, so you may review it before you hit send."
Campus Reform argues that Barchi's letter might actually be in violation of Rutgers' policy on political activities.
The rules state: "Every member of the university community has a right to participate or not, as he or she sees fit, in the election process. However, as an institution, Rutgers University shall be free of partisanship in its governance and conduct."
The Bridge Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation introduced in December. It aims to protect Dreamers under President Donald Trump's threat to enact new policies on illegal immigration. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin are among the bill's supporters.
"President Barchi understands that students have a variety of positions … The intention of this letter was to give students the option of voicing their opinion in an effective way," Rutgers senior director of university news and media relations told Campus Reform.
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