UA students urge admin to make statement on ICE raids

This story was originally published by AZPM.

TUCSON – Some University of Arizona students are frustrated with the school’s silence on recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns across the country and in the Tucson area.

They said they’re tired of the administration’s lack of support this school year. After grappling with forced name changes and restructurings, they’re most recently concerned with the university’s response — or lack thereof — to how ICE activity may affect students.

International student and F-1 student Visa holder Yassine Halhoul recently came forward about his month-long detainment by federal agents, which heightened students’ anxieties further.

Alexandra Ceballos is with the Guerrero Student Space, a resource center for Latinx students. She’s also an officer on the center’s student council.

“You shouldn’t want your students to be racially profiled, you know? So I just feel like we need to create a safer community on campus,” she said.

Last January, the Department of Homeland Security reversed a Biden-era administrative policy that prohibited Customs and Border Patrol and ICE from arresting people in schools, churches and other “sensitive” locations. That’s one reason students say they are worried about campus safety.

“Especially with our international students, ICE is a huge concern and there hasn’t been any specific action from the administration and we haven’t heard how they’re planning to protect our students,” said Auhona Shil, an officer on the Asian Pacific American Student Council.

“It seems that the current U of A administration simply just agrees with it,” Ceballos said of recent ICE crackdowns. “At least, to me, that’s what their silence means: that they’re complying with it. Or that they’re too afraid to fight back in fear of negative consequences.”

Ceballos, Shil and their peers said they’re planning to attend a student safety listening session with university administration in February to voice their concerns. But they say prior listening sessions with the administration were just that: a lot of listening, but not enough action to change policies.

The UA Law Student Bar Association released a statement to the Arizona Law community Wednesday, arguing that federal agents’ actions have been unlawful.

“If our legal education is grounded in constitutional values, we should be willing to examine whether our recruitment systems reflect those same standards,” the statement read.

UA College Democrats started a petition that over 1,100 people have signed as of Thursday morning. The petition gathers support for students who are asking the university to ensure campus is safe from ICE, regardless of students’ immigration status.

One piece of the petition asks the UA to protect student data and “prohibit disclosure of any student information, including directory information and limited directory information defined under (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), to DHS unless compelled by a judicial warrant.”

It also urges the university not to “use the ‘health and safety’ exception under FERPA to provide student information to DHS for the purpose of immigration enforcement.”

AZPM has confirmed with the Sunnyside and Catalina Foothills school districts that there are no protocols in place for students who may feel unsafe going to school in fear of ICE activity. TUSD republished last year’s immigration enforcement guidelines per a teacher’s request at Tuesday’s governing board meeting and a request from the Tucson Education Association.

Karla Escamilla with TUSD communications said students, as always, have the option to enroll in the Tucson Unified Virtual Academy if they want to learn remotely.

The Amphitheater School District did not respond to AZPM’s inquiry.

Student-led organizations like the Guerrero Student Council, UA Students for Socialism, College Democrats and more are calling for a protest tomorrow on the UA Mall in support of a national shutdown effort against ICE.

One officer on the university’s Asian Pacific American Student Council, John Piamonte, said the immigration enforcement controversy reminded him of the compact President Donald Trump proposed to the UA last year that would have prioritized the school’s federal funding in exchange for the adoption of conservative campus policies.

While university administration did not accept the terms of the contract, President Suresh Garimella wrote to the Department of Education: “I look forward to further discussion and a continued partnership with the federal government.”

“I’m glad to see that the university didn’t completely side with that compact. It’s still also not encouraging that the university kept that conversation open,” Piamonte said.