Over the past month, NYU’s Campus Safety officers have received training on how to respond to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, amid mass deportation of students and faculty in universities.
Roll-call trainings — sessions held at the start of law enforcement shifts to update officers on policy changes, safety procedures and incident reviews — were announced by provost Georgina Dopico at an April University Senate meeting. Dopico said all officers are required to complete the training, and that NYU’s Department of Campus Safety is currently devising “clear and accessible remote materials” for personnel use.
“Our Campus Safety officers are trained on these protocols, know them well and are regularly reminded of them, as they were this past spring when nearly 500 drills focusing on such interactions were conducted,” NYU spokesperson Joseph Tirella wrote in a statement to WSN.
After federal agents impersonated New York City Police Department officers and detained Columbia student Elmina Aghayeva from her university-owned apartment in February, NYU’s Campus Safety officers conducted hundreds of drill interactions with immigration agents, reviewing how to recognize ICE agents and confirm their legal authority. A day later, Student Government Assembly members similarly called for increased training to prevent ICE agents from entering university buildings without a warrant.
In March, NYU reissued its law enforcement policies, which prohibit disclosing personal information about students, staff or faculty to ICE agents except in cases of an “imminent health or safety emergency.” For legally binding requests such as warrants or subpoenas, the university will “adhere rigorously” to the policies and respond accordingly. Students, faculty and staff must be informed if their information is shared with law enforcement, except in cases of ongoing investigations.
NYU will still comply with judicial warrants or subpoenas and allow ICE agents to enter if they were contacted for assistance by a community member or in the event of an emergency. Administrators have emphasized that policies don’t apply in public spaces such as Washington Square Park that the university does not own or operate.
In early March, NYU began posting flyers in residence halls detailing its policies regarding ICE agents, although several students told WSN at the time that they were still unaware of the protocol. Last week, NYU’s chapter for Students for International Labor Solidarity called on the university to cut ties with Hilton Hotels & Resorts and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, two companies SILS members say are affiliated with ICE operations.
Contact Sam Donagi at [email protected].