Currently in vogue at many institutions of higher learning is the idea that college campuses should shield illegal immigrants, akin to the so-called "sanctuary cities." This idea comes with some irony. Today, after all, many of our finest universities, known for their rigorous admission standards and vigorous curriculums, apparently already seek to serve as sanctuaries for left-leaning faint-hearted millennials who don't want to confront opinions that conflict with their own.

Nonetheless, this push for sanctuary status for illegal immigrants on campuses such as Yale, Dartmouth, Stanford, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Pennsylvania does indicate that some of America's intellectual elite will not take lying down President-elect Donald Trump's agenda to restore law and order to our immigration process.

Pro-sanctuary protests began erupting on campuses in mid-November, with the student activists participating in them seeking several assurances from their college administrators should a crackdown occur. Those policies include not inquiring about or revealing the immigration status of their undocumented peers, not allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on campus; or not permitting campus police to assist federal agents in arrests or deportation proceedings.

Some college presidents have responded favorably, declaring that unless federal agents bring court orders or warrants they will do what they can to ensure that the undocumented students will not be harassed by authorities.

Other campus leaders have been more hesitant. While not critical of the sanctuary advocates' goal, they note the term has little legal meaning and probably even less legal standing. Federal law even reaches onto private campuses, the say. Moreover, they question whether such a designation is necessary, pointing out that colleges are among the last places the feds come looking for illegal immigrants.

Perhaps some of these presidents fear the consequences for agreeing with their students. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and some state lawmakers in Georgia are countering the sanctuary movement by threatening to cut funding for any college that declares itself a safe space. The administrators should expect Trump and a Republican-led Congress to suggest likewise if they are perceived to be thwarting efforts to enforce immigration laws.

Students who are resisting Trump's thinking on this issue may have their hearts in the right place. A great number of illegal immigrants enrolled in our colleges were brought here as children by their parents. Consequently, through no fault of their own, America is the only home they know, and if they were sent back to their country of origin, they would be foreigners in every sense of the word. It seems wrong to penalize them for that, especially since by enrolling in college they are trying to improve both their minds and their prospects.

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