UC Berkeley to send out notifications of immigration enforcement on campus | Campus

UC Berkeley announced Jan. 23 that it will send out email notifications when federal immigration enforcement activity is confirmed on campus. 

These notifications will only be sent when “immigration enforcement” occurs, not when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officers are only sighted on campus. 

Notifications will also be sent when officers from other law enforcement departments, including state, local or federal officers, are “seeking to enforce immigration law.”

This practice is in compliance with SB 98, also known as the Sending Alerts to Families in Education Act, which requires the UC system to notify students when immigration enforcement activity is present on campus. The bill was passed in September of last year. 

The bill defines enforcement activity as “any and all efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal civil immigration law,” especially regarding a person’s presence or employment status in the United States. 

According to campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore, notifications will only be sent out when activity is confirmed on UC Berkeley’s main campus, the Richmond Field Station or campus-operated student housing. Otherwise, campus administration will evaluate whether sending a notification is necessary.

Gilmore stated in an email that verification of immigration enforcement activity could take more than several hours. If campus is unable to obtain confirmation, an email notification will not be sent.

Emails will include the location where immigration enforcement took place, as well as the date and time campus administration confirmed the activity. SB 98 also mandates that notifications contain a list of relevant resources, which includes information about an individual’s legal rights. 

Further UCPD training on situations where ICE appears on campus is not warranted, according to Gilmore. 

“Federal immigration enforcement is outside the university’s control,” Gilmore said in an email. “We cannot prevent federal officers from accessing public areas of campus or impede their activities. What we can do is provide the campus community with information about their rights, connect them to legal resources, and ensure they know how to access support.” 

However, according to ASUC President Abigail Verino, UC Office of the President, or UCOP, Director of Community Safety Jody Stiger mentioned he would be following up with UCPD on the bill’s implementation. 

In the email announcing the introduction of SB 98 notifications, campus noted that “at this time, there is no immediate or known activity on campus, and we have no indication or reports that such activities will occur.” 

“Compliance with SB 98 does not alter existing policies and procedures regarding campus interactions with law enforcement,” said UCOP spokesperson Omar Rodriguez in an email. 

Liliana Iglesias, director of the Undocumented Students Program, declined to comment.

Students expressed hope for the SB 98-mandated notifications, though hesitant about campus’s potential response if immigration enforcement were to occur on campus. 

“I would hope that the bill would be upheld by the university,” said campus junior Nava Modanlou. “But seeing how Cal has acted in the past few months with exposing names of students … I don’t know.” 

However, Modanlou said the immigration enforcement notifications are “a step forward.” 

On Monday, students reported seeing ICE officers on College Avenue, but further inquiry with the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership proved that these sightings were unfounded.