Amid violent protests that prompted the cancellation on Wednesday of Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos’s speech at the University of California at Berkeley, it is important to recall that UC President Janet Napolitano – former secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama – has been a key player in providing sanctuary to illegal aliens.

Milo was planning to use his UC Berkeley speech to call for the withdrawal of federal funds from so-called sanctuary campuses, meaning universities that don’t enforce U.S. immigration law.

Breitbart News reported:

Milo and the David Horowitz Freedom Center have teamed up to take down the growing phenomenon of “sanctuary campuses” that shelter illegal immigrants from being deported. Milo will kick start the campaign with a speech at the University of California’s Berkeley campus on February 1, where he, backed by the Freedom Center, will call for the withdrawal of federal grants and the prosecution of university officials who endanger their students with their policies, starting with UC President and former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks.

On Tuesday, the East Bay Times reported protesters were gearing up to confront Milo’s kickoff of the campaign against sanctuary campuses.

Last month, Napolitano announced the UC system would continue to defy immigration law despite then President-elect Donald Trump’s expected policies of enforcing such laws.

The Washington Times reported:

The University of California system announced Wednesday that campus police will not undertake joint efforts with any law enforcement agencies to investigate students suspected of breaking federal immigration laws.

Police officers at the UC’s 10 campuses will not contact, detain, question or arrest any individual solely on the basis of immigration status, except as required by law, the school system said in a statement.

“While we still do not know what policies and practices the incoming federal administration may adopt, given the many public pronouncements made during the presidential campaign and its aftermath, we felt it necessary to reaffirm that UC will act upon its deeply held conviction that all members of our community have the right to work, study and live safely and without fear at all UC locations,” Napolitano said in the statement.

The 10-campus UC system admits there are about 2,500 illegal alien students enrolled across the university.

While at the helm of DHS, Napolitano infamously usurped existing immigration law and utilized a memorandum to implement key sections of the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act, which Congress repeatedly failed to pass.

Napolitano’s June 2012 memorandum was titled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

As I previously reported, the memorandum called for “prosecutorial discretion” to be used in implementing immigration law for those who fit the following criteria:

*Are under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012;

*Arrived to the United States before reaching their 16th birthday;

*Continuously resided in the United States from June 15, 2007, to the present;

*Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, as well as at the time of requesting deferred action

*Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or had any lawful immigration status expired on or before June 15, 2012;

*Were in school at the time of application, or have already graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, or have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces; and

*Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

Earlier, in August 2011, Napolitano announced a two-pronged initiative that prioritized deportations to those deemed by DHS to be the most dangerous illegal aliens instead of focusing on the general illegal population. “This case-by-case approach will enhance public safety,” she said at the time. “Immigration judges will be able to more swiftly adjudicate high-priority cases, such as those involving convicted felons.”

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.

With research by Brenda J. Elliott.