SAN MARCOS, Calif. (KGTV) — College campuses are no longer off-limits to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Direction from the Department of Homeland Security now allows ICE agents to go into what’s being described as sensitive areas if need be.
Those areas include schools.
While that hasn’t happened yet since President Donald Trump took office, some students have voiced their fears.
Juan Sanchez, a senior at California State University San Marcos, spoke with ABC 10News in Nov. 2024 and said he was worried about his family and friends who are undocumented.
Since President Trump took office and started mass deportation efforts, Sanchez said he and his friends on campus are constantly checking in on each other.
"This is a big commuter campus, so a lot of people may be having to pass through checkpoints areas that might be a high risk for immigration to be there," Sanchez said.
Sanchez said he is also helping educate his family and friends about what to do if they're confronted about their status and referenced his "Know your Legal Rights" card.
"What you can say, what not to say, if [ICE] needs to enter into your home, they need to have a warrant, or you have the right to remain silent because regardless of immigration status, you have the right to remain silent," Sanchez said. "On the back, if there's a really strong language barrier, you could give it to the officer to read the messaging."
There are more than 21 different countries represented by students on CSU San Marcos' campus, and Sanchez said he knows that students from around the world are all feeling the same fear.
That's why the Chief of Police at CSU San Marcos' issued a statement addressing fears of raids on campus.
The statement reads in part, "Individuals will not be contacted, detained, questioned or arrested by UPD solely on the basis of being or suspected of being undocumented. University Police will not enter into agreements with state or local law enforcement agencies, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or any other federal agency for the enforcement of federal immigration law, except as consistent with California Government Code 7282 or as required by law.University Police will not honor ICE immigration hold requests unless doing so is consistent with California Government Code 7282 or as required by law."
"Our mission and our values continue to be the same. We understand that in order for students to be able to learn, they need to be well," Dr. Viridiana Diaz, vice president of student affairs at CSU, said.
Diaz said many of the students feel more vulnerable, not just for themselves, but also for their families.
Diaz said the school is doubling down on its support for the students, and some of the campus resources students can lean on are counseling, an emergency fund if students have financial needs outside of their aid and access to pro bono immigration attorneys if students have questions about their own status or their family members status.
