Francisco Acosta has made many friend in his years working as a custodian on the Wesleyan campus. He is now facing the struggle of a lifetime, as the federal government has denied his appeals for political asylum and is trying to deport him to Colombia. Francisco left that country during a surge of violence there in 2001, and much of his family has lived in the United States for years. ICE has demanded that Francisco leave the country, and he is appealing this order.
You can read more about Francisco’s case here, and you can sign a petition expressing support for him here.
Wesleyan has tried to be helpful to Francisco, and we will continue to reach out to his union and attorney to see how we can be most useful. I am contacting key congressional members to enlist their support, and we will do our best to reverse what seems to be an unjust, mean-spirited effort to deport a valued member of our community.
Dear Dr. Roth,
Thank you for speaking candidly about our current political climate and for standing up for human rights, education and educators! I teach at a small, private liberal arts college in Washington state and I have been alarmed at my institution’s (and many other’s) unwillingness to enter into the “political fray,” as you say in your interview in the Chronicle. For what it’s worth, I think higher education needs to get out of its defensive crouch and start challenging those who belittle or take for granted what we do.
Matt Reynolds
Whitman College
Bravo, President Michael Roth! The current detestable Executive and Legislative policies have to be clarified and amended; living in fear in the US has never proven a reasonable nor a sensible solution to any issue or group of targeted communities.
That is very nice of Wesleyan and you to lend the voice to the voiceless and the most vulnerable people. Thanks for doing that.