As the end of the year wrapped up, the former senators of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona met one last time to decide the fate of the Secure Act Resolution, along with a new vote on the Homes Act for cultural and resource centers.
The Secure Act Resolution, which was created to increase student knowledge on the extent of immigration enforcement on campus, was ultimately not adopted by ASUA. The Homes Act, which was written to ensure support for the cultural and resource centers at the UA, was passed by a unanimous vote and adopted.
The veto of the Secure Act Resolution has not been overridden
The Secure Act Resolution, initially proposed by former Sen. Arjun Phull, aimed to call upon the UA administration to make a public statement regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s reversal of its sensitive locations policy.
The DHS previously held a special restriction on immigration enforcement in certain locations, including college campuses. This policy was revoked on Jan. 21, meaning that immigration enforcement agencies could conduct activities on the UA campus. The UA administration has not made any statement on the extent to which enforcement activities could be performed on campus, which Phull’s resolution attempted to remedy.
After the Secure Act Resolution’s decisive pass in the ASUA Senate on March 26, Student Body President Adriana Grijalva vetoed the proposal.
Grijalva initially cited concerns with the resolution, such as how the University of Arizona Police Department was not referenced throughout the draft process, and that other key stakeholders were not included. Grijalva also pointed out some issues with implementing immigration into UAlert notifications.
Many senators felt that this decision came from fear of retaliation from the UA administration.
In a meeting to discuss the veto on April 23, Phull’s fellow senators shared their opinions, with the majority supporting his initial resolution. Former Sen. Pamela Salcido expressed concerns that Grijalva was appeasing the UA administration rather than student needs. “I am not here to become friends with the administration or because I want to work with the provost,” Salcido said.
Other senators agreed with Grijalva and her perceived logistical issues behind the resolution. Former Sen. Liliana Quiroz expressed her understanding and empathy behind the resolution, but felt as though the technicalities of its implementation were not worked out. “I do feel like as the senate we haven’t done our due diligence to meet with everyone we should have met with before going straight to making a resolution,” Quiroz said.
The senate had a chance to override Grijalva’s veto on April 30, but the minimum requirement of 12 votes was not met. Nine senators were in favor of overriding the veto, one opposed and two abstained.
Phull, the author of the proposed Secure Act Resolution, released a strong dissent to this decision on May 9. Phull started out his dissent by referencing the problematic nature of the DHS’s rescission of the sensitive location policy. “This change created fear and confusion among many of our most vulnerable students,” Phull wrote.
Phull then addressed what he perceived to be serious missteps by Grijalva, who was reelected for her second term on March 26. “Between the bill’s passage and her veto, President Grijalva made no effort to reach out, collaborate or offer amendments that might have addressed her stated concerns,” Phull wrote.
Phull also addressed Grijalva’s concerns that the bill did not reference adequate stakeholders. “In my view, this critique misrepresents the spirit and structure of the legislation. I did consult with students directly — students whose privacy and security necessitated discretion,” Phull wrote.
The dissent then referenced Grijalva’s possible concerns about how the resolution could have impacted relations with the UA administration. “Our role as student government is to represent students, not to serve as an extension of university leadership,” Phull wrote.
Finally, Phull’s dissent ended with a look towards the future of ASUA. “I call on future student leaders to reaffirm ASUA’s independence, to act decisively in support of student rights and to resist any pressure to water down our advocacy in deference to administrative preference,” he wrote.
In terms of the future of Grijalva’s second term as student body president, Phull also held strong opinions. “I implore President Grijalva and her successors to work proactively with senators — not around them,” he wrote.
The Homes Act is officially introduced, passed and adopted
Prior to stepping down from his role as senator from the 2024–2025 school year, Phull also authored and proposed the Homes Act Resolution. The official text of this resolution reads to “affirm the vital role of the University of Arizona’s Cultural and Resource Centers as home-away-from-home spaces that foster belonging, community, and student empowerment on campus.”
Amidst the many decisions recently made by the Trump administration, issues of diversity, equity and inclusion have been at the forefront of many college administrations’ decisions, including at the UA.
The UA currently holds 10 cultural and resource centers, including the African American Students Association, the Immigrant Student Resource Center and the Transfer Student Center. The United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights declared cultural-resource centers, along with other race-based programs, illegal in a Dear Colleague letter written on Feb. 14. That said, many college administrations, along with students, are unsure about how this will be implemented.
Phull’s resolution “urges the University of Arizona to continue supporting each of its Cultural and Resource Centers by maintaining their current physical spaces, programming, funding, staffing, and resources, and to ensure their long-term sustainability as part of the University’s broader commitment to student success, inclusion, and belonging,” the text read.
The resolution argues that, “the mission and work of the Cultural and Resource Centers are consistent with the University’s commitment to fostering a campus rooted in compassion and inclusion,” it read.
The 2024–2025 ASUA Senate, at their last meeting prior to stepping down, voted to pass the Homes Act Resolution on April 30 with a unanimous 12-0 vote. The ASUA Senate officially adopted it on May 16.
The post-Homes Act landscape with a new provost
Although ASUA adopted the Homes Act, its actual implementation with the UA administration is seemingly unknown. Patricia Prelock was selected as the next provost of the UA on April 8, and officially started her position on May 19.
Prelock has begun initial communications on a plan to consolidate seven of the cultural and resource centers, particularly those tied into cultural student identity, into one large multicultural center. This will include Native American Student Affairs, Asian Pacific American Student Affairs, African American Student Affairs, Guerrero Student Affairs (Latinx), LGBTQ Student Affairs, the Women and Gender Resource Center and the Disability Cultural Center.
This change is in light of recent federal and state-level pressure on DEIA initiatives. Provost Prelock is overseeing the restructuring of the cultural and resource centers.
Eddie Barrón, who was sworn in as an at-large student body senator for the 2025–2026 year on May 1, shared his thoughts on this decision in an Instagram post on May 23. “We knew the administration would wait until summer to make these moves — when the students who’ve been showing up and fighting for each other are off campus,” Barrón wrote.
Barrón also expressed the importance of cultural and resource centers at the UA. “These spaces matter deeply to students and were earned through hard work and community effort,” Barrón wrote. Barrón argued that the decision only strengthens a harmful administration.
That said, Barrón did not concede the fight for these centers. “If the administration won’t listen to us, we’ll move forward without them,” Barrón wrote.
