By: Matthew Orquia and Hayden Kobza
Last month, in response to growing concern on campus regarding changing federal and state immigration policies, Student Association (SA) Senate sent a statement to Southern Adventist University administrators requesting a plan to protect students.
The statement reads, “In the light of the fact that the Trump Administration has allowed ICE to rigorously enforce the deportation policy in schools and churches, we request action or a protection plan that manifests keeping all students safe from this policy.”
The statement refers to heightened efforts by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration, such as the rescinding of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy memorandum from the Biden administration that protected areas of churches, schools and hospitals from enforcement action near the locations, according to the Homeland Security website.
In response, the university has formed a task force to monitor ongoing developments and evaluate potential community impact. Additionally, Terrence Olsen, an immigration lawyer who advises Southern on student immigration, spoke to campus on Feb. 11.
The removal of the “protected area” designation granted to churches, schools and hospitals sparked concern among Seventh-day Adventist institutions across the United States.
Last week, Pacific Union College released an administrative statement addressing the topic, joining the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Seventh-day Adventist Office for Regional Conference Ministry, the Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and Loma Linda Health as organizations that have put out statements or social media posts.
Legal changes in Tennessee
In January 2025, Senate Bill 6002 passed in the Tennessee General Assembly (TGA) and has until Feb. 18, 2025, to be either signed into law or vetoed by Gov. Bill Lee. If the governor does not do either, the bill will become law without a signature, according to lawmaking policies on the TGA website.
The proposed legislation includes a new Immigration Enforcement Division, grants for local enforcement, distinct driver’s licenses for non-citizens and the penalizing of local officials who adopt sanctuary policies, according to the TGA website.
The Accent reached out to Assistant Police Chief Jamie Heath, of the Collegedale Police Department (CPD), to ask about the bill’s potential impact on the local community. Heath replied in an email that he is not able to comment on the impact of the pending bill prior to an official outcome.
“If it does [become law], then the city and police department will evaluate our enforcement practices to see if there are any requirements for our compliance,” he said. “Until that time, the Collegedale Police Department would prefer not to speculate about such a sensitive topic and instead reassure everyone that we are here to serve and protect regardless of race, creed, gender, national origin, or immigration status.”
A professor’s perspective
The Accent interviewed Adrienne Royo, chair of Southern’s Modern Languages Department, who shared her thoughts on the new policies and possible Tennessee legislation.
Royo has worked as a lay pastor at several Spanish-speaking or bilingual churches, which she says allowed her to experience a “cultural richness” that she considers herself blessed to have received.
While getting her PhD, Royo worked with undocumented people who were trying to get documented. She was also a teacher for a class preparing people to get citizenship.
“No undocumented person should cross the border,” Royo said in a phone interview. “… I say that across the board.”
She cited Matthew 22, which says “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s,” to support her assertion.
However, she expressed disappointment at the current immigration landscape and shared that while she was serving as a lay pastor, she knew that some of her congregation was undocumented, but said that it was more important to share the Gospel with people.
“Our focus was not to identify individuals who were either documented or undocumented,” Royo said. “… [The Gospel] has been brought to a lot of people, and it’s been brought to a lot of people because they were attending church and seeking God and wanting to have answers and understanding.”
She said that people of all backgrounds in church can benefit and then share that benefit with their family and community.
“Many churches have been started and have been established and have been strengthened in Spanish speaking countries because of the persons that were here who learned about God and learned about the gospel,” she said, “and they were so excited and so uplifted that they carried that excitement and that knowledge with them wherever they went.”
When asked if these new policies and bills could lead to racial profiling, Royo said poses a concern.
“It’s already started from what I’ve been hearing,” she said. “Even before [Donald Trump’s] administration came in –before they were sworn in, and all that – it seemed to be that there was already some research that was being done to identify locations where you might find people who are undocumented. So it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility whatsoever.”
Royo emphasized the importance of prayer in such circumstances.
“We need to keep people in prayer at all times,” Royo said. “We need to pray that God will intervene wherever he needs to, that God will be in control, and that the Gospel will continue to be able to be shared in spite of all the other external situations.”
“And, also, I would just like to pray that each one of our administrators, that faculty, that students, that employees, we need to keep them in prayer too, because it is an uncertain time that we’re living in,” she continued.
