As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) presence in Bellingham continues to grow, students have been left wondering what might happen if ICE were to arrive on Western Washington University’s campus. To answer any questions students or staff might have regarding ICE, the Office of Equity sent out an open invitation for a special informational session to review university policy for immigration enforcement on campus.
Conducted via Zoom, WWU’s Chief Diversity Officer and Executive Director Jacqueline Hughes began the meeting by acknowledging students' and staff's concerns about ICE. Hughes quickly assured attendees of the Zoom meeting that WWU’s resources would not be used in aiding or engaging in any form of immigration enforcement.
Hughes stated that Western does not grant permission for any person who is engaged or intends to engage in immigration enforcement in any immediate vicinity. All university employees and volunteers are to be made aware of the rights of any immigrant students on campus.
University Police Department Chief Katy Potts was also present in the Zoom meeting.
Potts addressed some of the questions that were left in the Zoom chat, one of them being, “Will the campus put out any kind of alert if ICE enters campus?” Potts explained the emergency communications and notifications process that Western has adopted, pointing out that the university cannot appear to object to the activity of ICE on campus, but can send out an advisory stating that law enforcement is active in a particular area on campus.
Potts addressed a popular question: “Will WWU prohibit ICE from entering certain locations?” Potts said that while the university can tell ICE that certain areas are private spaces that they cannot enter, university police cannot physically stop them. Potts said that the university police’s role is to document everything taking place.
Potts also said that while generally ICE cannot enter private or non-public areas of campus without a judicial warrant or consent, it does not necessarily mean ICE won’t violate those rules. Some of the private areas on campus mentioned were dorm rooms and dining halls, where no form of law enforcement is allowed to enter without a judicial warrant or if they are invited in.
Potts said that students do not have to, nor should they give consent for ICE agents to enter their dorm rooms. If ICE is seen on campus, Potts urges students to call 9-1-1.
Potts said that Western cannot guarantee ICE will give advanced notice if they do show up to campus, and even mentioned that she found out through speaking to the local Sheriff that ICE has not regularly been giving out advanced notice.
All students and staff should be aware of their rights. For any further clarification, Western community members can access the policy regarding immigration enforcement’s access provided during the Zoom meeting.
Chance Loewi (he/him) is a reporter for The Front’s campus life beat. He is a third-year news and editorial journalism major. In his free time, you can find him playing basketball or ping pong with his friends.
