Front desk supervisors circulated a checklist to front desk staff across campus last week to prepare for potential unannounced visits from immigration enforcement agents in the wake of President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport migrants, student employees reported.
The checklist instructs front office staff not to let U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents enter private spaces and outlines GW’s employee protocol if ICE visits campus to enforce immigration-related action. The University published the guidance on the Office of the General Counsel’s website in 2017, according to web archives, but students said supervisors distributed a printed checklist to desks across campus in the last week.
Last week, Trump signed an executive order that allows immigration officials to carry out immigration enforcement in sensitive areas like churches, schools and universities. ICE considers universities to be “sensitive locations,” according to the GW OGC’s website.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” DHS said in a statement Tuesday.
In response to the executive order, about 80 education-related organizations penned a letter on Jan. 20 urging state and local leaders to reject anti-immigrant actions by the Trump administration.
“An attack on immigrants is an attack on us all,” the letter reads. “Immigrants are deeply intertwined in the fabric of our nation and integral to the future of this country.”
The OGC’s website states that agents may not go beyond GW public spaces into offices, labs, conference rooms, residence halls and classrooms. If ICE agents attempt to enter nonpublic spaces, the site advises employees to state, “I am not authorized to let you enter. I will call our university police department now so they may speak with you.”
University spokesperson Julia Metjian confirmed that guidance for front desk staff and supervisors on immigration-related government visits has been available on the University’s website.
The site states that employees should call the GW Police Department and alert their supervisor if an ICE agent attempts to enter the building. GWPD will not participate in joint enforcement against individuals based on immigration status unless required by law, like a warrant, according to the OGC’s website.
ICE agents must have a warrant to seize University property or documents or take individuals into custody and should not carry out the warrant until GWPD or OGC has reviewed it, according to the website.
The Hatchet observed printed copies of the guidance at the front desks of the Multicultural Student Services Center and Center for Career Services on Friday.
The website also provides links outlining additional protocols for supervisors and front desk staff. The guidance advises employees to remain calm when talking to the officers and contact their supervisor or GWPD immediately, according to the checklist.
Front desk staff are instructed to request credentials or another type of identification from the agents and make copies, per the checklist. The checklist also informs staff that they are not allowed to give out any information or answer questions about GW employees or students.
Sophia McCoy, a first-year who works at the Campus Living & Residential Education office in Amsterdam Hall, said CLRE officials in the last week shared guidance.
“It’s good that we’re spreading awareness about it. They really shouldn’t be able to just take people from this University just because it’s a presidential executive order,” McCoy said. “I think it’s good that we’re teaching people to protect their rights and knowing what the limitations of the government are.”
