Angles: Should ICE be allowed to enter college campuses?
College campuses are seen as places to learn — places where students can interact with people from diverse backgrounds as well as from different parts of the country and world. Right now, however, the issues surrounding immigration are ever-present in political conversation and action.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is in charge of finding and detaining undocumented immigrants. In 2011, a memorandum entitled “Enforcement Actions at or Focused on Sensitive Locations” limited ICE’s operating power in certain places, such as schools, hospitals and institutions of worship.
However, President Donald J. Trump has signed a string of recent executive orders since his inauguration, one of which walked back the policy that ICE has operated under for over a decade. As of Jan. 20, ICE is no longer under obligation to give “sensitive locations” special consideration as they were before. This raises a question for students who live at universities: should ICE have this much power over the spaces they call home?
Below, two contributing writers argue for and against ICE’s enforcement of immigration policies on college campuses.
— Jocelyn Baas, Forum Editor
Yes, don’t encourage division
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are legally allowed to be on campus. By advocating for its non-permission, we are advocating for the disobedience of federal law. An ICE agent’s primary job is to maintain security by identifying and apprehending individuals who may pose threats while refraining from conducting needless harassment of innocent students.
By advocating against ICE agents on campus, we are portraying them as enemies to fear. This contributes to the dehumanization of ICE agents by portraying them as evil enforcers of a controversial policy rather than as individuals. In reality, most of these federal agents are doing their job and want the best for the community around them.
Interacting with ICE agents in academic settings could foster dialogue and encourage nuanced discussions about immigration policy rather than promoting division and alienation; moreover, we should be grateful to live in one of the best democracies in the world instead of creating our own unhappiness by doubting federal agencies.
This fear-based approach goes against our institutions’ core mission: Learning and open discourse. The way to deal with difficult topics is not through avoidance, as avoidance just reinforces polarization. When we portray ICE as an enemy rather than a federal agency meant to protect citizens, we make it difficult to have balanced conversations about immigration policies. By unnecessarily making topics like immigration a taboo subject, we amplify what is not, in reality, a huge issue, sparking division and creating a one-dimensional view of both ICE agents and migrants.
Moreover, by advocating against ICE agents on campus, we are portraying the immigrant and international student population as victims and outsiders rather than valued members of the academic community. There is no scenario in which an ICE agent will target a non-criminal Augustana student because, in order to enroll in an Augustana class, an international student must have undergone much legal paperwork and be of legal status. Hence, by advocating against ICE being on campus, we are indirectly conveying that we see the migrant and international student population as criminals, as ICE only targets criminal migrants. The best way to be accepting of migrants is by viewing them as part of the broader Augustana community and not viewing them as outsiders and victims in need of protection.
By advocating against ICE being on campus, we are not only going against federal law but also creating division and mistrust in the government, alienating the migrant population within Augustana and putting student safety at risk.
No, avoid anxiety for students
The day after President Trump signed an executive order (EO) allowing ICE to enter sensitive locations, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Benjamine C. Huffman wrote in a statement: “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.”
Like any other law enforcement agency, ICE is required to have a warrant to enter private property, and some parts of college campuses – like dorm buildings – function as private dwellings. However, ICE can also enter private property without a warrant under the doctrine of reasonable suspicion.
This policy shift may make it seem that ICE has free rein. While it's true that ICE can enter and be present in the public areas of campuses, they can only ask questions, and individuals have the right to refuse to answer. College administrations also aren’t required to assist ICE unless officers have a signed court warrant for a specific person on campus. This means that dorms are off-limits unless a warrant is present.
An article released by Inside Higher Ed discussed how a group of students organized an event to encourage their peers to report undocumented students at Arizona State University via an X link that led to ICE’s website.
In response to the event, ASU leaders released a statement expressing that they do not encourage students to make indiscriminate complaints about fellow students, citing ASU as a place to learn – not a place for self-aggrandizing conduct. However, the university leaders also explained that while they don’t condone such actions, students are allowed to exercise their freedom of speech.
The presence of ICE agents has the potential to create distress among students. This includes students who are immigrants, international students and those who may not even be directly affected by ICE. The presence alone causes anxiety among students trying to pursue their education.
Students of all immigration statuses reside and learn on college campuses. An article released by the American Council on Education states that an estimated 400,000 undocumented students are enrolled in colleges seeking higher education.
In addition, not only those who have immigrated and now live in the U.S. would be affected — so could international students.
International students are protected under their student visas: These students are in the U.S. legally. It is likely, however, that President Trump will make it more difficult for international students to obtain visas. During his previous term, he prevented the entrance of individuals from 13 nations, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court.
While these students are protected as long as they hold their visas, that doesn’t prevent any racial biases that ICE agents may have. An article released by Newsweek highlighted multiple individuals who had legal residence in the U.S. and were still detained by ICE agents.
One of them is a Mexican-born man who had been in the U.S. for 30 years and who applied for a “U” Visa in 2018. He was under Deferred Action, which allowed him to work and live legally in the U.S.
A woman, along with some of her family members, were questioned and detained by immigration agents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, simply for speaking Spanish while shopping. These individuals were born in Puerto Rico and were U.S. citizens, as stated by Truthout.
Racial biases will affect international students at Augustana. There are more than just these cases where ICE agents have detained individuals due to “suspicious activity.” It is possible that international students who are in the wrong place at the wrong time could be questioned and detained simply because they fit the stereotypical standard of an illegal immigrant. Even if ICE agents don’t have a warrant, individuals may still be wrongfully detained.
Allowing ICE to be on campus, even in public areas, heightens anxiety among students and creates division. Part of a college or university’s responsibility is to protect its students and provide them with resources, regardless of their legal status. People go to college seeking a better education – not to live in fear of being detained simply for being an immigrant.
