UD last updated its guidance page covering ICE interactions earlier this month. To date, UD reports zero immigration enforcement actions on campus.
But ICE agents, like all members of the public, have a constitutional right to be in public spaces. That includes public university campuses and spaces like the campus Green.
Executive director Mike Brickner said Delawareans are experiencing ICE raids and arrests like the rest of the country, and UD’s guide provides good examples and scripts for folks to reference during interactions with ICE.
“They have gotten violent with people, and they've also lied to state and local law enforcement and to the public about what's been going on when we have video that shows different,” Brickner said. “And so it's really important for members of the public to know their rights.”
Brickner added it’s important the UD community knows they can deny officers entry to limited access areas like dorm halls, research labs and classrooms while classes are in session.
UD’s reference guide starts by instructing community members, faculty and students to immediately call UD Police if ICE agents ask to enter a limited access area like residence halls, research labs or classrooms while classes are in session.
It also says people should call if they’re asked for information about a student, faculty or staff member and if they’re offered legal documents like warrants or subpoenas.
UD’s guidelines provide scripts for people interacting with ICE agents like: “I'm not authorized to provide information. I need to contact UD Police, who can assist you.”
If officers aren’t receptive or force entry, UD instructs people to step aside, call UD Police immediately and document all interactions and information like officer names and badge numbers.
“So first of all, I think it's really important, and I think this is something that UD does in its guidance is for people to remain calm, right?” Brickner said. “We don't want you to escalate the situation, but you want to clearly and calmly articulate your rights.”
In ACLU Know Your Rights presentations, speakers recommend discussing potential ICE interactions and dividing responsibilities between three people.
“We recommend three roles, the first being the point of contact with ICE, the person who does most of the conversation with them,” Brickner explained. “The second person is the person who calls the superiors or the attorneys, somebody who can come in and intervene. And the third person, I think that this is really important, is the documenter – the person who maybe gets out their cell phone and records what happens, the person who writes down all of the officers names and badge numbers or writes down all the things that they take from the place.”
UD is not unfounded in offering these precautions – ICE arrested a student at a campus parking lot in Minnesota in December. ICE detained another student in Chicago near the school’s main campus.
Brickner said he thinks ICE agents should be barred from entering certain safe spaces like hospitals, schools and courthouses, an idea being considered by the General Assembly through House Bill 94.
But the current bill pushes to secure “child serving entities, places of worship or health care facilities,” which might not include universities.
“I think it's questionable, and I think that that's an area that we would be supportive of the language more explicitly stating,” Brickner said. “Because, again, having universities potentially be covered under this while the students who are going there are young adults, they're also a very vulnerable group, and we want to make sure that we continue to maintain the safe academic environment at a university.”
That bill is out of House Committee.
People can access UD’s sample scripts and suggested guidelines for ICE interactions at the university’s website.
