From the President
Sanctuary District Resolution
April 8, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the start of the spring 2025 quarter. Hopefully you were able to get some well-deserved rest and relaxation during the slower spring break pace and are ready to finish off the academic school year.
I’m pleased to share the news that last night, the Board of Trustees unanimously adopted the resolution designating Foothill-De Anza as a sanctuary district.
This action reaffirms a longstanding commitment, by the district and both colleges, to serve and educate all students. We are also committed to supporting all — including our undocumented, LGBTQ+ and international students — who may be vulnerable to arbitrary, cruel and potentially devastating actions by other levels of government. This support extends to our colleagues who may be similarly affected.
As the resolution states:
Designating Foothill-De Anza Community College District a sanctuary district sends a powerful message of support to students, employees and community members that the district is an institution they can trust to make every effort to provide safe spaces to learn and work within the limits of applicable laws, including by providing training to staff and adopting procedures so that any immigration officers attempting to enter nonpublic spaces of campus are asked to identify the legal authority to do so (e.g., valid judicial warrant or emergency circumstances) …
The resolution goes on to say the district will not cooperate with any effort to create a registry of individuals based on legally protected characteristics – such as religion, national origin, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity – and that the district will not release identifiable student or employee information without a court order or as required by law.
I’m especially pleased that this resolution was drafted in a collaborative process that brought together representatives from both colleges, with valuable input and support from our academic, classified and student constituencies. As always, it was a pleasure to work with my counterpart, Foothill President Kristina Whalen, along with her team. Please join me in thanking our De Anza College colleagues who participated on this workgroup: Cynthia Kaufman, Shaila Ramos-Garcia, Dennis Shannakian, Tim Shively and Erik Woodbury.
The board adopted the final draft with two additions offered by Trustee Laura Casas. You can read the submitted resolution here.
As part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that all faculty, classified professionals and administrators have access to ongoing training, HEFAS will be offering the following workshops and more:
HEFAS Summit – UndocuSOL/Know Your Rights Workshop
Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Time: 12:00-4 p.m. (two workshop sessions: 1:30-2:30 and 2:40- 3:40 p.m.)
UndocuSTEM Conference – UndocuSOL/Know Your Rights Workshop
Date: Thursday, May 22, 2025
Time: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Additional information will be posted on the HEFAS website soon.
We can all be proud of the ongoing work by our district and colleges. Thank you to all who contributed to and supported this process, and thank you for all that you do for our students and each other.
Sincerely,
Omar
Omar Torres, Ed.D.
President, De Anza College