The ASUC’s Undocumented Student Affairs Committee, or USAC, looks to develop a student-led rapid response network which would verify and report immigration enforcement activity to members of campus. 

The move follows a Jan. 23 campus announcement of protocols to notify students when there is immigration enforcement activity on campus. This comes in response to SB 98, which mandates that the UC system notify students with a date, time and location of action when immigration enforcement activity is confirmed on campuses. 

In compliance with SB 98, campus said it would notify students via email if there are confirmed federal immigration enforcement operations taking place on campus. Campus does not have to notify students of mere sightings of immigration enforcement agents, rather enforcement operations as defined under the bill. 

“If the campus is unable to verify reported activity or determines that reported activity was not immigration enforcement, no email notification will be sent,” the announcement said. 

Confirming details about those actions could take more than several hours, according to previous statements from campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore. 

USAC’s main complaint with those measures is too much bureaucracy. USAC believes that a collaborative, student-led system could more comprehensively and quickly alert students about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

“It’s not really distrust (of campus),” said USAC co-chair Jesús Tolento in an interview after the committee’s Feb. 3 meeting. “It’s just that their system is really bureaucratic and it takes a while to respond.” 

Members of USAC cited rumors which circulated Jan. 26, about an ICE sighting on College Avenue. The Daily Californian reported that these rumors were unfounded. 

“A lot of us, what we are doing is reposting stuff and sharing it with our friends,” said USAC co-chair Katherine Guzman during the meeting. “Sometimes, even though we’re doing it with good intentions, some of that information can be fake, just like what happened last week.”

While the committee is still in the early planning stages, USAC hopes the proposed rapid response network could bring together a number of student resources to quickly verify and disseminate information about sightings of immigration agents. 

During the meeting Tuesday, USAC members mentioned an already existing group chat maintained by Improving Dreams, Equity, Access, and Success, an organization that supports undocumented students. Members also mentioned wanting to work with organizations such as the Graduate Student Assembly and the UC Berkeley Chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. 

Members also cited Daily Cal coverage as a resource. The Daily Cal has no partnership with the ASUC regarding immigration enforcement action notifications. 

When asked how the ASUC would ensure that its efforts did not promote more false reports or sow panic, Tolento said the network would not post unconfirmed information. 

“I think that the rapid response network could be a really good method for us to be more communicative with each other and not repost false findings,” said ASUC Executive Vice President Isha Chander after the meeting. “I think it will serve to reinforce that community education and awareness.”