College campuses are on higher alert about immigration enforcement than they’ve been in years.
Last week, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faced blowback over what some saw as a capitulation to Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina said the university’s chancellor had decided to “prioritize voluntary compliance with ICE over protecting students.” Then, on Friday, an Arizona State University student organization hosted an event urging students to call ICE on their peers, sparking a large protest. And over the weekend, a Temple University student was arrested after allegedly impersonating an ICE officer.
The flurry of incidents signals growing anxiety about whether immigration authorities will conduct raids on college campuses, where hundreds of thousands of undocumented students are enrolled. Last month, as part of the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, President Trump rescinded a decade-old policy that designated colleges as “sensitive” areas not subject to deportation activities except in rare cases.
Most institutions already have protocols in place to respond to law enforcement, and many have released statements highlighting existing and updated policies. For some faculty and student groups, campus guidelines aren’t going far enough. So they’re mobilizing to protect their peers.
Dozens of students turned out at UNC-Chapel Hill on Wednesday to protest the administration’s statements, saying the university’s priority should be to protect students regardless of immigration status.
Sheila Vélez Martínez, a professor of immigration law at the University of Pittsburgh, said she doesn’t expect frequent ICE appearances on campus. But she said she’s seen widespread fear among immigrant communities since Trump took office.
“I do think that we might see certain changes on policies that will make it more difficult for students that are undocumented to fully participate in the academic life,” Vélez Martínez said.
Activism Ramps Up
Nationwide, student and faculty groups are organizing rallies, hosting “Know Your Rights” sessions, and ensuring those affected have access to legal help.
At Arizona State, about 150 protesters gathered on Friday to oppose the ICE event hosted by College Republicans United, a separate club from the College Republicans. The right-wing group claimed that it was a “civic duty” for students to aid law enforcement by reporting undocumented classmates to immigration authorities.
“The first thing that went through my head was, how can something disgusting like this, something targeting, discriminatory, and honestly, just flat-out racist happen on our campus?” said Jacob Martinez, a second-year law student.
The university, a Hispanic-serving institution, said in a statement it could not prevent a student organization from hosting events, but emphasized that the actions of College Republicans United were “not in keeping with the principles which underlie our academic community.”
Arizona State did not release guidance regarding ICE presence on campus, but a spokesperson said the university would provide updates when specific actions need to be taken.
Faculty are scared. Faculty are scared for themselves. Faculty are scared for their students.
Martinez holds a leadership role in the university’s Chicano/Latino Law Student Association. He said his organization has been organizing information sessions about immigration and offering help to local immigration lawyers in light of Trump’s policy changes.
Similarly, a Northwestern University group for undocumented students quadrupled its number of January events, and the University of Florida’s Hispanic-Latine Student Association posted online a list of legal resources for immigrant students.
At Temple, a faculty union is lobbying the university’s administration for more clarity after a Temple student and another person were arrested on Saturday for allegedly impersonating ICE officers. A university email notifying students of the incident said they wore shirts with “Police” and “ICE” written on them and attempted to enter a residence hall but were denied entry. A third individual recorded the incident.
On Tuesday, Temple sent an email to vice presidents, deans, and department heads stating that ICE agents are allowed in public spaces but would need a warrant for entry in areas restricted from public access. The university directed faculty and staff to contact the university counsel should ICE enforcement action occur on campus or should an employee receive a warrant, court order, or subpoena.
“Please be assured that Temple follows all legal obligations as it pertains to the privacy of its students’ and employees’ personal information,” Temple’s president, John Fry, wrote last week in a statement to the campus community.
Jeffrey Doshna, president of the Temple Association of University Professionals, said that faculty are still uncertain about how to keep their community and students safe.
“Faculty are scared. Faculty are scared for themselves. Faculty are scared for their students. Faculty are scared for their families. Faculty are scared for their neighbors,” said Doshna, an associate professor of city planning and community development. “And we want to continue to make sure that everybody in our broad community is safe and we don’t have assurances about it.”
Communication Challenges
For college leaders, talking to their campuses about immigration enforcement presents a conundrum. Too much information could spark panic. Too little could prompt confusion and pushback.
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor on Sunday published a five-page document stating it “will not take affirmative steps to advance enforcement of federal immigration law” but will not interfere with immigration officers, should they be on campus. The document also advises students to record video or audio of any interactions with ICE officers.
Several colleges have announced or confirmed plans to comply with ICE officials should they face court orders or subpoenas. But one chancellor’s recent statement on the matter at a January 24 faculty meeting touched a nerve.
“If we’re asked to identify undocumented students, what will we say?” Allison Schlobohm, an associate professor of business at UNC-Chapel Hill, asked Lee H. Roberts, the chancellor.
“We’re going to comply with any requests from law enforcement about that or anything else,” Roberts replied, noting the college would likely seek legal advice to avoid conflicts with federal privacy protections on student information. He empathizes with the anxiety among the campus’s immigrant community, he added.
I would like to see college and university administrators state publicly that the well-being and the safety of their students and employees are their top priority.
A slew of student groups, including the Mexican, Asian, and Black student associations, denounced Roberts’s comments. Some group members also participated in Wednesday’s campus rally, which took place on the steps of the chancellor’s office.
Alan Rojas-Rodriguez, a UNC-Chapel Hill senior, leads Mi Pueblo, one of the largest campus organizations for Latino/a students. His classmates have been supportive of immigrant students, Rojas-Rodriguez said, and he hasn’t noticed any students advocating for deportations, like at Arizona State.
“I hope this remains the case throughout this administration and throughout whatever happens in the future,” Rojas-Rodriguez said, “that students remain steadfast in supporting one another despite their documentation status.”
In a written response to the ACLU’s letter criticizing UNC-Chapel Hill’s “voluntary compliance with ICE,” obtained by Inside Higher Ed, Roberts defended his statements and said the university’s obligation to comply with the law “is not new, nor has it changed in recent weeks.” In an email to the campus community on Friday, Roberts included a link to a new university website of resources related to the Trump administration’s executive actions.
Student and faculty organizations should continue to support their immigrant populations, no matter what the administration’s position is, said Michael Palm, an associate professor of communication and head of the UNC-Chapel Hill chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Palm also attended the Wednesday rally.
“I would like to see college and university administrators state publicly that the well-being and the safety of their students and employees are their top priority,” Palm said, “and that they will use all of the resources at their disposal — in the case of colleges and universities, including FERPA laws — to protect their students, rather than genuflecting to the administration before any requests for information are even made.”
