A group of Harvard University activists purportedly members of "Harvard Special Investigations Unit," apologized for posting fake deportation notices in dorm rooms, claiming that the resident of the dorm has been detained indefinitely.
The Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee circulated the fake notices as a form of protest, The Harvard Crimson reported. Apparently, the fake notice was also formally co-signed by other groups namely Harvard Concilio Latino, the Harvard Black Students Association, the Harvard Islamic Society and orchestrated by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee.
The flyers were found to be fraudulent for at the back it tells the students "this is not a real notice." It also said that they aim to inform the reality that the state can inflict unwarranted disruptions of life under suspicious circumstances and hold 'suspects' indefinitely.
Confusion and anger were generated on campus by multiple students forced two of the four groups to involved to apologize for making the fake flyers. Some students reportedly got upset with the groups citing they did not take into account the feeling of people who have actually been served deportation notices or are facing deportation, or have loved ones who are at risk of being deported.
Some of the student groups with connections to the flyer had already apologized, according to the National Review. Concilio Latino wrote that their group were not aware of the flyer's exact contents and apologized for the harm it may have caused students. However, they add that though the flyers are fake, the effects are beyond real and represent something entirely antithetical to what their group stands for.
Apparently, this is not the first time the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee faced controversy. Back in 2013, the group caused quite a controversy when they sent out mock eviction notices to mark that year's Harvard Israel Apartheid week.
Though the group has already stopped sending out the fake deportation flyers after strong student body criticism, they have not responded to requests for comment, according to the Harvard Crimson.
