Group Opposed to Illegal Immigrants Sues California College for Refusing Access to Its Campus
Chronicle of Higher Education 1/19/07
In a lawsuit filed last week in California Superior Court, the organization claims that Compton Community College's decision was discriminatory because the college had allowed special-interest groups, including Louis Farrakhan supporters and participants in a Multicultural Youth Peace Summit, to use its facilities in the past.
The suit asserts that the college violated the Minuteman Project's rights to free speech and assembly under the First Amendment, the California Constitution, and a federal civil-rights statute.
"They've opened their campus to other outside organizations, and once you've done that, you can't deny an application based on content of speech," said Michael W. Sands Jr., lead counsel on the case for the Minuteman Project.
The college, now known as El Camino College Compton Center, has been run by nearby El Camino College since August, when Compton lost its accreditation because of management issues unrelated to the Minuteman lawsuit (The Chronicle, July 19, 2006). The minutemen had requested to hold their forum in July, before El Camino took over management of the campus, so only Compton, which still exists as a separate legal entity under California statute, is implicated in the suit.
Ann M. Garten, a spokeswoman for El Camino College and the Compton campus, said on Wednesday that college officials were not aware of the suit against the campus.
After receiving a copy of the lawsuit, Ms. Garten said on Thursday that the college would not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit asks for a temporary restraining order to force Compton to immediately allow the Minuteman Project and other such organizations access to campus facilities. Further, it calls for a ruling that the institution's actions were unlawful.
The Minuteman Project also is seeking damages of at least $25,000 from each of the eight named defendants, including the college and Jamillah Moore, former interim president of the institution. Ms. Moore could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Moore personally denied the group's request, stating in a letter that the college did not allow special-interest groups or those supporting specific candidates for public office to use its facilities. She also cited the college's interest in maintaining order and peaceful conduct on the campus, the court documents state.
The Minuteman Project, which tries to prevent illegal immigration through demonstrations and by reporting illegal crossings along the nation's borders, has provoked angry reactions at past events. Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, was prevented from speaking at Columbia University in October when a heated student protest devolved into an outright brawl (The Chronicle, October 6, 2006).