IN CASE OF ICE

Illustrations by Soren Moos

As United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement has eviscerated its way across the country in recent raids appointed by the Trump Administration, the once hard line between law enforcement and Fourth Amendment rights has been blurred.

The country opened the new year with jarring, violent exposure to ICE raids in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. News coverage erupted with tales of ICE home raids without judicial warrants, detaining immigrants with legal status and exerting harm onto protesters—sometimes fatally.

ICE has also made itself known, to an extent, in Syracuse. Since the beginning of 2025 as of publication, ICE has arrested 162 people in Onondaga county.

They’ve even detained two union workers at SUNY Upstate Medical University, only a few streets off of Syracuse University’s campus. Months later, and most recently, ICE detained more people off of University Avenue and Harrison Street.

Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, ICE has not arrived on or immediately near campus, according to SU’s Department of Public Safety. While a few false reports of ICE sightings have circulated on the anonymous social media app YikYak, DPS Chief Michael Bunker maintained at February’s University Senate open forum that the university has yet to see federal immigration officers arrive.

But it begs the question: what happens if ICE does arrive on campus?

After all, they’ve made it to other university campuses, including Columbia University, Santa Barbara City College in California and Augsburg University in Minneapolis.

While the university hasn’t publicly released any protocol for students if ICE agents make their way onto campus, community organizations like the Syracuse Immigration and Refugee Defense Network (SIRDN) have provided grassroots resources to help those who may come in contact with federal agents.

While the university hasn’t publicly released any protocol for students if ICE agents make their way onto campus, community organizations like the Syracuse Immigration and Refugee Defense Network (SIRDN) have provided grassroots resources to help those who may come in contact with federal agents.

And while DPS did not respond to Jerk’s request for comment about campus protocol regarding ICE, it’s important for SU students to understand their rights if and when they may be approached by federal agents. That’s why Jerk has compiled a guide to reporting ICE sightings and knowing your rights on campus.

REPORTING ICE

If you think you see ICE on or near campus, the most important thing to do is stay calm. This may seem easier said than done, but it’s the first point SIRDN makes in its ICE-reporting protocol.

Federal agents rarely communicate with local law enforcement, including DPS, about their whereabouts.

• So, if you see an ICE officer, you should contact DPS.

• Then, consider reporting the sighting to SIRDN’s ICE hotline at 315-400-0920.

• The group then usually posts confirmed or investigative sightings on its Instagram, @sidrn315.

DO NOT:

• Rush or approach federal officers to ask them to identify themselves (they typically won’t)

• Post unconfirmed sightings on social media

While SIRDN’s community-informed tools are useful for communicating ICE sightings, it’s important to err on the side of caution. False reports are always possible. But, it’s best to stay safe, not sorry.

KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS

Different constitutional rights apply depending on where you are on campus—regardless of immigration status.

Without a warrant, ICE can legally enter:

• Public buildings where ID/swipe access isn’t necessary

• Streets surrounding campus

• Quads

They cannot, however, legally enter private areas of campus, such as:

• Dorm Buildings

• Swipe access (i.e. Dineen Hall, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)

• University Neighborhood residences

Unless they have a signed, judicial warrant.

If you encounter a federal agent on campus, you have the right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment. If you ever come in contact with an agent, SU tells students not to engage and to defer them to DPS right away.

Agents may say they have a warrant that allows them to enter private areas. Make sure that:

• The warrant is signed by a judge, also called a “judicial warrant”

• The warrant is not an “administrative warrant”—an internal ICE document that agents often present as an actual warrant

And while it’s important to stand your ground when asserting your rights, remain calm. ICE agents may escalate situations when people are uneasy and afraid. Exercise your right to remain silent and leave the situation as quickly as possible to report the incident to DPS.

According to most educational ICE guidelines, students should never lie to an ICE officer, present fake information or admit to anything incriminating.

While you, as a student and individual, have these distinguished constitutional rights, it’s important to understand that ICE may even violate such rights without many repercussions. Elaina Aghayeva at Columbia University was recently detained and arrested after ICE agents misrepresented themselves to break into her dorm.

Want to help protect other students from potential ICE raids? The best thing to do is stay informed, per SIRDN. While little information has been provided to professors and students about SU campus-specific protocol, documents circulated by SU’s chapter of the American Association of University professionals have helped guide professors when dealing with potential ICE in the classroom.