On President Donald Trump’s second day in office, he rescinded protections for “sensitive locations” like churches, hospitals, schools and college campuses, where previously, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were ordered to avoid operating.
Among the many questions raised by the new administration’s policy changes is how they will impact students at DU.
There have been over 100 federal directives and executive orders issued since the president’s inauguration on Jan. 20, and since that day, over 60 lawsuits filed against the Trump administration. Federal judges have temporarily blocked implementation of over a dozen of President Trump’s executive orders.
With the flood of policy upheaval, legal challenges, and courtroom clashes, it’s not surprising that universities around the country are struggling to keep up, especially as some directives have been considered “unconstitutionally vague” and thus impossible to put into practice.
On Feb. 14, the University of Denver released a statement saying that the “high level of activity” and “uncertainty” of the federal policy changes focused on “areas of critical importance to DU” is “concerning,” and that the university is working across departments and in partnership with peer institutions to clarify how the directives could impact students.
The Clarion asked the Chancellor’s Office for comment last Monday and was told that DU remains committed to its values and has allocated resources to affected students and employees, such as legal advice and “Know Your Rights” workshops. The University intends to protect the privacy of students’ and employees’ personal information, adhering to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
DU doesn’t define itself as a sanctuary campus. The city of Denver, also, does not explicitly use the word “sanctuary” in any ordinances, but it is often labeled as such. Even though local authorities still have to cooperate with federal law enforcement in many situations, the city limits the extent to which it cooperates with federal immigration enforcement efforts. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston will testify to these allegations before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on March 5.
In 2024, there were approximately 408,000 undocumented students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities (or about 2% of all college students nationwide).
Though ICE operations have not yet begun in schools or college campuses, anxiety surrounding potential raids has already inflamed tensions around the country.
On Feb. 12, Denver Public Schools (DPS) became the first school district to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on the grounds that it is “hindered in fulfilling its mission of providing education and life services to the students who are refraining from attending DPS schools for fear of immigration enforcement actions occurring on DPS school grounds.”
The school district, seeking a temporary restraining order while their lawsuit makes its way through the court system, argued that they have been “forced to divert resources from its educational mission to prepare for immigration arrests” and detailed the fear experienced by their students – more than half of whom are Latine.
While some colleges and universities have indicated they will return to approaches developed during President Trump’s first term to handle immigration enforcement, others are constantly readjusting their policies in response to directives
DU has communicated its commitment to its immigrant community and international students and directed students and employees to refer authorities to the Office of General Counsel or Department of Campus Safety.
It appears that DU’s current messaging is more reserved than the messaging sent to the community during the first Trump administration.
Former Chancellor Rebecca Chopp said in 2017 that Campus Safety “never has and will not assist” federal and state authorities’ efforts to “identify and deport undocumented community members,” which DU has not yet explicitly reiterated.
Federal law enforcement has access to spaces depending on whether they are designated as ‘public’ or ‘non-public.’ However public universities like CU Boulder tend to have more open campuses.
ICE officials can enter public places without a warrant. However, they can only enter nonpublic areas with permission from an authorized school official or a judicial warrant.
Universities also have the power to create ICE cooperation or noncooperation policies of their own. A university, for example, could choose to cooperate with ICE and allow access to nonpublic areas without a judicial warrant, limiting the spaces where undocumented students are safe.
Universities can also designate spaces as ‘nonpublic,’ limiting access to members of the public. Examples of these spaces are locked buildings that require keycards or that have monitored entryways, including residence halls. Some spaces, like offices, might be unlocked during working hours but still considered nonpublic.
Institutions are only required to grant federal authorities access to nonpublic areas if they have criminal arrest or search warrants, a specific type of permission called judicial warrants.
Being in the U.S. without authorization is a civil violation, not a criminal one. That means ICE agents often only have civil authority, so their warrants are administrative, not judicial. Because of the legal intricacies of enforcement operations, the Office of the Chancellor encourages students or employees who are approached by law enforcement or government agencies to immediately contact the Office of the General Counsel or Department of Campus Safety.
