A public university in Northern California has established a website with official school resources for undocumented students in the event of a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on the university campus.
Administrators at the University of California, Berkeley have established an online resource with a series of guidelines for illegal immigrant students, as well as legal students and faculty, in preparation for potential ICE raids on the California campus. The university implemented this resource despite admitting they have no reason to believe UC Berkeley will be a target of any future raids.
“While we currently have no information suggesting that our campus, in particular, could be targeted, we believe it is still important for all of us to be informed and prepared in order to support and protect vulnerable members of our community,” the site reads.
Among the resources listed on the website is an “Immigration Sweeps Toolkit,” which lists places where there is limited access to ICE agents unless they possess a warrant, as well as a series of questions for what faculty can do should ICE agents come to their building or department. Included among those questions is “If I work in a public access building, can I prohibit access to federal immigration officers in support of our undocumented community?”
UC Berkeley’s response is so straightforward, it’s listed in bolded ink. “No,” the response reads. “UC does not have authority to prohibit federal immigration enforcement officers from coming on campus or entering health facilities to enforce federal law.”
Following the election of Donald Trump, the entire UC system put out a statement in support of undocumented immigrant students, pledging that none of the universities would assist the federal government in any immigration actions unless compelled to do so with a warrant. Additionally, the UC system pledged that any undocumented applicant “with or without DACA status” would receive the same level of consideration as any U.S. citizen.
