ICE Student Employee Guidance

Hello Student Employees,

On Friday, January 24, President Eduardo M. Peñalver sent out a communication to the university community regarding guidance for supporting our students who are non-citizens. The President’s message includes Guidance (linked here) to faculty and staff issued by the Office of University Counsel (“OUC”) regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). As student-employees, the OUC’s Guidance applies to you as well.

(Note: supervisors are copied on this email)

In your roles as student employees, if you are approached by or encounter ICE agents:

• If you are questioned regarding student information, the Federal Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA) still applies, and you cannot release information about a fellow student to anyone. Please contact your supervisor and DPS for assistance. They will coordinate with the Dean of Students and OUC.
• As explained in the Guidance, ICE agents must have a search or arrest warrant to access nonpublic areas of campus (areas closed to the public such as residence hall or apartment rooms, classrooms, faculty offices, and administrative offices).
• No staff member/student employee is authorized to accept service of documents (such as a warrant) on behalf of the university or to grant them access to nonpublic spaces. If you work at a front desk space and are approached by a member of any law enforcement agency, including ICE, you should be polite, but explain that are not authorized to accept any documentation on behalf of the university or grant access to nonpublic areas.
  • For example, you may wish to say, “ I understand you are here for law enforcement purposes, but I am not authorized to grant you permission to enter nonpublic areas or accept documents on behalf of the university,” then refer the agent(s) to the OUC.
• Should you encounter ICE in private spaces, please follow our usual protocol and call the Department of Public Safety first and then your supervisor for awareness and support. There are no instances where you should be handling these situations alone.
• If an ICE agent has taken a student into custody, call DPS immediately and contact your supervisor. If possible, document your observations in writing (such as through an email), and attempt to document the student’s name and ID number.

As a Jesuit Catholic institution, we recognize the human dignity of all persons and of all our students. We are here to support students and create a safe environment where they can thrive in our student community.

We are also here to support you, our student employees, as we navigate uncertain times. We will continue communicating with your supervisors regarding any updates to procedures and protocols as they become known to us.

We encourage you to use your supervisor as a source of support. However, should you need additional support, know that CAPS, Campus Ministry, or TimelyCare are additional resources available to you.

Thank you for your continued work and for being a source of support and care for each other and fellow Redhawks.

Sincerely,

Sharon Leary, Student Employment Director, sleary@seattleu.edu