Since March 2025, a minimum of 15 Florida public universities and faculties, together with the College of Florida and Florida State School at Jacksonville, have signed memorandums of settlement for his or her campus police departments to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Those partnerships authorize ICE brokers to extend the position of campus law enforcement officials so they are able to obtain coaching and “perform certain functions of an immigration officer.”
The agreements give campus law enforcement officials the federal authority to query scholars who’re believed to be immigrants about their prison proper to be within the nation. Campus law enforcement officials can arrest scholars if the officials have “reason to believe the alien to be arrested is in the United States in violation of law.” Campus police too can test federal immigration databases to peer scholars’ immigration standing.
The listing of universities within the state that experience signed on to those agreements comprises main analysis universities corresponding to Florida Atlantic College and Florida World College in Miami, or FIU, the place we paintings as professors of training. We’re blind to any faculty within the Florida state college gadget that has publicly stated they’re going to now not signal an settlement.
Up to now few many years, the U.S. executive has categorized universities as “sensitive” areas which might be safe from competitive immigration enforcement. Because of this faculties, like church buildings and hospitals, have till just lately been typically thought to be off-limits for immigration enforcement officials.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump revoked those long-standing Division of Place of birth Safety protections.
A shift on campus
As students, we learn about relationships between faculties and democracy, from how scholars be informed languages to how scholars and educators can turn out to be leaders.
As professors, we educate many scholars who’re immigrants or are from overseas nations who come to the U.S. for his or her research, in addition to many who’re kids of immigrants.
On account of those new projects, we’re seeing and for my part experiencing an intensifying local weather of uncertainty and anxiousness on our campus. Those insurance policies are worsening a lot of our scholars’ sense of belonging.
Working out the adjustments
Trump’s option to immigration enforcement is supported by way of the federal 287(g) program, a 1996 modification to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. This modification to the wide-ranging immigration legislation shall we ICE delegate sure federal enforcement actions to native state police.
In February 2025, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed state universities to go into into 287(g) partnerships with ICE and to “deputize” college law enforcement officials to put into effect federal immigration regulations on faculty campuses.
ICE does now not have blanket get entry to to pupil data, which stay safe underneath federal privateness legislation. However 287(g) agreements create new pathways for info to waft thru campus police encounters, successfully reducing the barrier between college information and federal immigration enforcement.
There are not any professional stories of FIU or different Florida college campus law enforcement officials arresting scholars as a result of their immigration standing. A couple of faculty scholars, although, were detained off-campus by way of native police businesses after which became over to ICE.
FIU’s communications group wrote in a commentary to The Dialog: “Last year FIU Police signed a 287(g) memorandum of agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as have other state university, local and state law enforcement agencies in Florida. The 287(g) memorandum of agreement for Florida International University is readily available from ICE.gov.”
“Since signing the agreement, there have been no immigration-related enforcement actions on our campuses,” FIU’s commentary persisted.
Florida Atlantic College didn’t reply to a request for remark.
In January 2026, an immigration activist recorded FIU’s leader of police pronouncing at a FIU assembly that if ICE requests campus police’s lend a hand, they might comply.
As FIU college participants, we have now now not won any specific steerage on what to do if an ICE agent involves campus, or if a campus police officer tries to arrest somebody for immigration causes in our study rooms.
FIU President Jeanette Nuñez stated in 2025 that there used to be “much confusion, much angst, and much misinformation” concerning the settlement.
Different universities have emphasised the want to conform to state directives.
Some Florida college officers have stated that campus police is not going to goal scholars or habits raids as a part of their regimen cooperation with federal government.
Heightened pressure and anxiousness
As educators, our paintings has shifted over this previous educational 12 months from offering instruction to focusing extra on mentoring our scholars as complete folks. Our scholars are wondering how a lot their college helps them.
Day by day, we practice how Trump’s immigration insurance policies, together with shuttle bans the U.S. has put on sure nations, heighten pressure for all of our scholars, irrespective of their immigration standing. Our global and immigrant scholars have advised us they’re scared of the federal government’s higher surveillance.
One graduate pupil shared that he used to be hesitant to depart his dorm room and take part in any campus actions for worry of imaginable arrest as a result of his immigration standing.
Some other pupil stated he would now not go away the U.S. to seek advice from his mom who used to be ill with most cancers for worry he would now not be let again into the rustic. His mom has since handed with out his presence.
Many scholars, together with one global doctoral pupil and father to small children, are not able to go back to their place of birth and seek advice from their family members or habits analysis because of present shuttle bans positioned upon 75 nations in Africa, Latin The us, the Caribbean and the Center East.
Those new insurance policies have additionally precipitated pupil and college protests at our college and different public universities throughout Florida.
Some Florida Atlantic College scholars in Boca Raton staged a walkout on Feb. 25, 2026, to protest the varsity’s settlement with ICE.
Florida State College scholars known as on directors in February 2026 to arrange a “sanctuary campus,” which might restrict FSU partnerships with ICE.
We’re seeking to create extra alternatives for open discussion and for sharing scholars’ feelings and studies similar to those insurance policies. We also are serving to scholars in finding sources, together with prison help, that would lend a hand them or their friends if they’ve a detrimental come across with ICE or campus police.
Florida Atlantic College’s front is observed at its campus in Boca Raton, Fla.
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Shelter or possibility
Universities, particularly in conservative states corresponding to Florida, would possibly proceed to marketplace themselves as puts of inclusion, mobility and world belonging. That is true whilst faculties minimize range, fairness and inclusion systems and as some scholars revel in heightened surveillance, visa cancellations, detention or deportation.
One among our FIU graduate scholars just lately defined how those insurance policies are affecting their day by day existence.
“I just want to finish my studies as soon as possible and go back to my country. I feel unwelcome and unsafe on campus. I don’t want to join campus activities anymore because students can be targeted there,” the coed stated. “I no longer trust campus police officers and won’t ask them for help, even if I need it. I am afraid I will be profiled even though I am here legally.”
When campus police are folded into federal immigration paintings, we imagine that universities can’t declare they provide extra safe haven than possibility.
