In January 2025, Arizona State University junior Britney Vera scrolled past a social media post she thought seemed too outrageous to be real: A campus club was promoting an event where students could “report your illegal classmates” to federal immigration authorities.

Organized by College Republicans United, the plan prompted Vera and her peers in Aliento at ASU — a group supporting undocumented students and those from mixed-status families — to swiftly coordinate a protest.

After members of the club set up a table on campus, hundreds of students marched around them in opposition, with some holding signs that read “our diversity is our power” and “let us learn.” Vera recalled the moment as a powerful high. Within hours, though, she was deflated when ASU issued a statement defending the club’s right to free speech while condemning its message. 

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Now a senior, Vera feels university leadership hasn’t said or done much more to ease students’ fears about immigration agents entering campus and targeting international and undocumented students.

After the Trump administration lifted protections that made schools off-limits to immigration enforcement, education and immigration experts say universities need clear plans for responding to potential on-campus visits from agents to minimize chaos and reassure fearful students. Though the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting found no documented cases of Immigration and Customs Enforcement appearing on Arizona campuses as of Sept. 7, agents have shown up near universities in at least two other states so far. 

“Even just the rumor of ICE being on campus can be really terrifying for students, and can really prevent them from even going to the institution,” Monica Andrade, director of state policy and legal strategy for the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, told AZCIR. “They might decide not to go to class that day. It’s really disruptive.”

Arizona’s two largest public universities, ASU and the University of Arizona, have not issued instructions explicitly addressing what to do if ICE agents arrive. Neither has Central Arizona College, Cochise College, Eastern Arizona College or Grand Canyon University, AZCIR found after requesting policies or guidance about ICE on campus from the state’s 20 higher education institutions with the largest in-person enrollments.

Yavapai College, meanwhile, drafted an FAQ that explained student rights, safety measures and described how the school would support immigrant students. A spokesperson said the school had not shared that information publicly but did make recommendations for handling ICE visits and other emergency situations available to employees.

Maricopa Community Colleges, along with Pima Community College, Arizona Western College and Northern Arizona University, have furnished more comprehensive information to students, employees or both about what to do during ICE encounters on campus.

In the early months of his second term, President Donald Trump’s administration has withheld funding from higher education institutions, detained international students, restricted schools’ ability to enroll them and pressured schools to align with its political agenda.

Britney Vera, a senior and member of a mixed-status family, says Arizona State University’s leadership hasn’t done enough to ease student fears about immigration officials on campus.

Christopher Lomahquahu, AZCIR

Its crackdown on universities has produced a “chilling effect,” with colleges “first and foremost looking out for their institutional stability,” according to Katharine Meyer, a governance fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Brown Center on Education Policy. 

“There’s a widespread concern across universities that they might end up being the target of the next investigation from federal officials, they might be the next target to have funding frozen,” she said.

Meyer believes the current climate has made schools more hesitant about what they’re willing to put in writing. When it comes to communicating with campus communities about immigration enforcement and other sensitive issues, she said, schools may be weighing “the pros and cons of federal attention versus potentially alienating students, faculty and staff.”

Beyond taking aim at specific university policies, the Trump administration rescinded Department of Homeland Security guidelines shielding schools, churches and medical or mental health care facilities from enforcement actions. While ICE still cannot conduct warrantless searches in spaces with a constitutionally protected expectation of privacy, such as homes or workplaces, officials can legally make arrests in publicly accessible areas, like university courtyards.

The administration’s actions have heightened anxiety among the state’s estimated 11,000 undocumented students and nearly 28,000 international students in higher education. Advocates are also on high alert, particularly as the administration dedicates more resources to immigration enforcement, including funding to hire 10,000 more ICE agents.

“Our belief is that they are ramping this up,” said ACLU of Arizona border policy strategist Noah Schramm, pointing to “huge” investments in ICE staffing and detention capacity. “It’s sort of like, that’s the writing on the wall.”

Experts told AZCIR that because ICE’s authority varies by location, campus staff and students need to understand which spaces are public versus private and know their rights if officials arrive. 

“ICE doesn’t have unlimited discretion to operate in these areas, and if there’s lack of clarity on policy and what to do in certain situations, universities may be giving ICE rights that it doesn’t have to give them,” Schramm said.

ASU and UA offered scant information about their decisions not to implement new policies or guidance addressing immigration enforcement on campus.

ASU, which has about 78,000 students on campus, has not fulfilled a July 23 public records request seeking copies of such communications. Asked if any guidance had been shared with students or staff, media relations director Veronica Sanchez said no agents had been on campus and that, if they were to visit, “we would expect them to connect in advance with ASU Police.”

Sanchez repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether the school had an ICE-specific policy and if students, faculty and staff had been informed of one, saying only that the university would work with ICE in “the same way we would work with any law enforcement personnel that came onto our campuses.” 

Vera said the school’s handling of AZCIR’s inquiries made her “anxious” to return to ASU this fall. As a member of a mixed-status family, she’d hoped university leadership would at least give “a simple acknowledgement that they’re aware of what’s going on.”

“It kind of just feels like, ‘Oh, we had a break, a little three-month break, but now we’re back to the reality of our education being able to be taken away,’” she said.

Emily Sotelo Estrada, another ASU senior who has worked with undocumented classmates through Aliento, told AZCIR she recognizes her university is in a difficult position with the current administration. But she worries about the many “gray areas” where students and faculty don’t know what law enforcement can and cannot do.

Students and staff need to be prepared in order to protect everyone’s safety, Sotelo Estrada said—including that of any immigration officers who may show up on campus.

United Campus Workers of Arizona, which represents staff at the state’s three largest public universities, called on UA and ASU leaders to “do more and say more against these federal attacks” on students. One of their main duties, UCW-Arizona acting president Marcos Esparza said, should be ensuring students can work and study “without feeling they’re going to be deported or have to leave the country immediately.”

UA, which has nearly 42,000 students in Tucson, told AZCIR it did “not possess any responsive records” regarding policies for handling immigration officials on campus. When asked about the lack of direction, university spokesperson Mitch Zak pointed to 2019 guidance on interacting with non-university law enforcement.

Zak insisted that guidance was “clear,” applied to federal immigration officials and was “designed to ensure that faculty and staff are aware, prepared, and supported should they encounter such situations.” Yet it makes no explicit mention of immigration authorities, and Zak acknowledged it is “not specific to any agency.”

The information, posted to a UA webpage on the “federal landscape,” directs employees to cooperate with officers, notify UA Police and “not physically block or interfere with (officers’) entry or actions.”

Ben Armentrout, a graduate student and former president of UA’s College Democrats, helped launch a petition in February urging the university to formally reject cooperation with federal immigration enforcement unless required by a warrant. It also implored leaders to prepare faculty and staff for possible ICE encounters on campus and to publicly affirm their commitment to a safe learning environment for all students, regardless of immigration status.

“It just seems like there’s a lot the university can do to make sure its students are safe and have the ability to learn that it hasn’t done yet,” Armentrout told AZCIR.

UA sophomore Cynthia Moran, who comes from a mixed-status family, similarly argued that “the university is not taking the correct measures and ensuring the safety of students,” particularly those without legal status. 

“It’s not fair for them—my peers who walk the same hallways I walk, or sit in the same chairs and tables I sit at—for them to be living with that fear when they’re not doing anything more than getting an education, which is so harmless,” Moran said.

Leila Hudson, a global studies professor and elected faculty chair at UA, described the school’s non-campus law enforcement policy as “vague” but said she understands university leadership keeping quiet “if the discretion and silence is providing an opportunity for them to have robust plans in place (behind the scenes).” If that’s not the case, she believes the rest of campus “will rise to the occasion of pooling its own knowledge, protecting community members and not being silent about abuses.”

“I hope that every university administration everywhere rises to meet standards set by our campus communities, and are not silently abdicating those responsibilities,” she said.

Arizona schools that did offer clear instructions and reassurance to their students acted quickly.

On Jan. 28, Pima Community College Chancellor Jeffrey Nasse released a statement acknowledging the “fear and uncertainty” prompted by federal immigration changes and affirming the school’s commitment to supporting its roughly 17,000 students.

Faculty and staff received a written FAQ with guidelines regarding law enforcement inquiries, employee and student rights, recent executive orders and federal compliance issues. It advised staff to call campus police and move away from the area if ICE agents arrived, supplying a script for “urgent/emergent situations.” 

Students got a similar document laying out their rights, sharing resources for international and refugee students and explaining immigration policy changes and student protections. It explicitly tackled concerns about whether attending class could expose students to ICE tracking or targeting. 

Other schools rolled out comparable resources. Northern Arizona University, for instance, circulated FAQs on March 4 to student affairs leadership, emphasizing the school’s commitment to students and detailing how faculty and staff should respond to federal immigration officials. Leadership could then share the information with staff who work with students in housing, counseling services, mentoring, academic support and more.

Arizona Western College hosted a town hall for employees to answer questions and address immigration-related executive orders. Speakers also outlined emergency protocols, reminding attendees that ICE cannot enter private areas without a judicial order.

Czarina Gallegos, a senior vice president, said the event sought to raise awareness of legal rights and reduce confusion “while supporting all students equally.” Reference materials were later provided to employees.

Employees at the Maricopa County Community College District’s 10 schools — Chandler-Gilbert, Estrella Mountain, GateWay, Glendale, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Rio Salado, Scottsdale and South Mountain Community College — received guidance in February on how to handle “immigration-related matters on District property,” according to district spokesperson Lindsey Wilson. 

The district, which serves about 140,000 students, explained that federal agents may enter public areas without authorization but need a judicial warrant or district approval to access places such as classrooms or “ID-restricted spaces.” The district advised any employee who sees or interacts with an immigration officer to alert their college’s designated point of contact and “inform the federal agent you are required to consult with administration before allowing them access.” 

Those campus contacts were trained in February on their responsibilities when dealing with immigration agents — primarily notifying the police commander and Office of General Counsel. The training also covered the rescinded DHS guidance and the difference between public and private spaces.

District officials declined an interview to discuss the protocols but said in a written statement that the point-of-contact system was meant “to ensure a streamlined, consistent response if federal immigration agents appear on campus.”

Stacy Smith, a professor of business law at Paradise Valley Community College and president of the Maricopa Community College Faculty Association, said the clarity provided by leadership allowed professors to focus on supporting their students. 

“I know about what to do, who to call, the steps to take, and I think that is what set up people to feel like they could focus on the classroom,” Smith said. “We didn’t have to worry about, ‘Oh, if someone comes in our hallway, what do we do?’”

After the Trump administration lifted protections that made schools off-limits to immigration enforcement, education and immigration experts say universities need clear plans for responding to potential on-campus visits from agents to minimize chaos and reassure fearful students.

Grace Trejo, Arizona Daily Star, File 2025

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