Within the first few weeks of President Trump’s administration, it was reported by Democracy Now that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made over 600 arrests in 11 states, including California.
San Francisco has been deemed a sanctuary city, meaning that the city obstructs the deportation of illegal immigrant residents. SF State may be located in a sanctuary city but the University operates on government property, which prevents the school itself from being classified as a sanctuary. In an interview with Golden Gate Xpress editors, President Leslie Wong said that the University behaves as a sanctuary school but does not use that term.
“The procedures that we’ve implemented respond as if we were (a sanctuary school),” Wong said. “We sit in a sanctuary city – we sit with a representative of the mayor’s emergency response team, so we’re connected to the city government and we do a lot of coordination of trying to figure out the unpredictability of the current administration.”
A memorandum distributed by CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White declared that all 23 CSU campuses will continue “being an inclusive and welcoming institution of higher education that is enhanced by our global community.”
In the memorandum White suggests that students and faculty immediately contact the University Police Department if ICE arrives on campus, and from there UPD will act as a liaison with the on-site officials.
Although ICE can enter the open SF State campus unannounced, University Police Chief Jason Wu said there would be zero tolerance if an ICE officer shows up on campus without the proper court order.
“If they have a warrant or any valid court order, as a university we will have to honor that,” Chief Wu said. “But if they are absent of that we are not required to assist ICE in any way.”
UPD will not detain students or anyone else on campus if ICE does not present a valid court order. Chief Wu discourages students from providing any other personal information to ICE officers because they are not lawfully required to do so without a proper warrant.
Undocumented students can learn more about available resources and find additional help with academic success at the DREAM Center located in Mary Park Hall.
