What the law says about ICE on college campuses
On Jan. 20, 2025, the Trump administration rescinded a policy memo that limited immigration enforcement activities in or near certain protected areas—such as college campuses, schools, healthcare facilities and places of worship. As a result, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and agents are allowed to conduct enforcement actions in formerly protected areas.
The Trump administration has also empowered other federal law enforcement agencies and local law enforcement to take immigration enforcement actions. This means that the presence of other law enforcement officers on campus—including DEA, ATF, FBI or local law enforcement—could make noncitizen students vulnerable to immigration enforcement.
It’s important to remember that our students, faculty, and members of the immigrant community still have basic constitutional rights.
There are important steps that can be taken to support our immigrant community in all formerly designated protected areas.
These steps include:
- Identify any applicable federal, state and local laws and policies that protect immigrant communities.
- If policies don’t exist, develop a written response policy and preparedness plan in advance of any potential interaction with an immigration enforcement officer on or near the college campus.
- This should include designating a clear point of contact for property access requests, as well as instructions on how and where to direct ICE officers, and ensuring that relevant campus staff are trained on the policy and how to implement it.
Can colleges prevent ICE from going on campus?
Whether ICE can enter a campus to take enforcement action depends on whether the area is considered public. Federal immigration enforcement officers can enter public areas without a warrant, just like any member of the public. However, officers cannot access nonpublic areas of campus without permission from an authorized campus official. Institutional employees are not required to grant access, provide documents or assist federal immigration officers in entering nonpublic areas of the campus. Federal immigration enforcement agents may not enter areas that are private without a legally sufficient judicial warrant.
It is important to note that ICE or federal officials from the Department of Homeland Security may be on college campuses for reasons unrelated to enforcement actions. Universities with international programs are required to report certain information about international students on an F-1 or J-1 visa to ICE. This reporting is routine, and the university is required to comply with on-site visits to review records when requested.
Please refer to the PDF version below for the complete resource.
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