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In a case Workday has been following closely, Augsburg University tenured English professor Dr. Mzenga Wanyama has been facing deportation since March.
In a statement released last night, Wanyama says he is committed to teaching his students this fall, despite ongoing threats from ICE to deport him.
“I am determined to teach my fall courses while the courts consider the motions my attorneys have filed. I will do my job for the sake of the students, my department, my discipline, and my community. Refugees and immigrants, including many of our students, are facing great difficulty existing in the US in this historical moment. I stand with my students and community,” Wanyama said.
Professors at Augsburg declared their support for Wanyama and his family with a resolution that passed unanimously at a faculty meeting.
It reads, “The Augsburg University faculty calls on the U.S. government to halt plans for the unjust deportation of our colleague Professor Mzenga Wanyama and his spouse and Augsburg nursing student Mary Mzenga and to permit their continued work and residence in the US. We stand against the anti-immigrant sentiment that is prompting the current wave of deportations and proudly affirm our status as an institution that supports the many immigrant and refugee members of our academic community.”
The threat of deportation continues even though Wanyama has two relief motions pending: one that would reopen his asylum case based on changed country conditions, and one that would grant a waiver of one of the terms of his original non-immigrant visa, permitting him to stay and work here.
It is not customary for ICE to deport someone while their case for asylum is pending. But ICE has been pushing the boundaries of constitutionality in recent cases, giving the local community cause for concern. Wanyama gained national attention with student-led protests and rallies at the ICE building, on campus, and outside Senator Klobuchar’s office, just as investigative journalists were revealing the scale of the mass detention of children and separation of families in the southwestern United States.
Wanyama’s attorney is currently filing for a stay of deportation with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) so that the courts can do their work and make decisions on the motions that have been filed.
Supporters are sharing a fundraiser to cover his legal costs at https://www.gofundme.com/help-augsburg-prof-mzenga-wanyama