Nearly a half dozen SoCal universities advise staff on how to handle immigration enforcement on campus

Some Southern California universities are reminding employees how to handle immigration enforcement on campuses after President Donald Trump last week stripped churches and schools of protection from raids.

For example, California State University, Dominguez Hills is among campuses that have advised members of its community to refer immigration agents to the university's police department. It also said to report any immigration agent activity to campus police.

Cal State Fullerton also printed 10,000 “Know Your Rights” cards to give out that state: “Contact CSUF Police Department… if the officer does not leave."

For some of Cal State Fullerton’s nearly 4,000 employees, the message was clear.

“Don't give up your students, and protect them,” said Freddi-Jo Bruschke, a professor of geology.

College students are protected by privacy laws

Campus officials say the guidance not to identify college students to agents is based on existing privacy laws like the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, better known as FERPA. The decades-old federal law prohibits university employees from disclosing student information without their consent.

Knowing that can help employees who may be intimidated by immigration agents brandishing warrants.

“You do not even have to entertain the document, regardless of whether it's an ICE warrant or a real judicial warrant,” said Brenda Montes, an immigration lawyer and Cal State Northridge constitutional law professor.

Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Long Beach, and Cal State Northridge issued similar directions.

At some campuses, university officials said the goal is to protect students to the fullest extent allowable, and also to advise staff on their legal obligations.

Guidance at the UC schools

The University of California issued guidance in December with information about how to respond to immigration enforcement on campus, including questions on:

• Will university police work with federal immigration officers to apprehend and remove individuals from campus?
• Can UC prevent federal immigration enforcement officers from coming on campus or other university property?
• What does a federal immigration enforcement warrant allow an immigration officer to do?
• What should someone do if a federal immigration enforcement officer presents them with a warrant?

When reached for comment, officials at local campuses reiterated points from the guidance.

J.D. Warren, a UC Riverside spokesperson, said employees can reach out to campus police or the university's Office of Legal Affairs “if a federal agent comes to campus seeking to enter a nonpublic or limited access area with a warrant or subpoena.”

UCLA spokesperson Ricardo Vasquez wouldn’t say what official was in charge of the university’s immigration response — for example, the new head of campus and community safety — but pointed to the university president’s office as the main source of guidance.

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez is a lecturer at Cal State Long Beach.