Immigration Sweeps - Toolkits and Resources

January 26, 2018

Dear UC Berkeley Campus Community: 

As you may already be aware, recent news reports are warning of possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to target Northern California for a broad immigration enforcement “sweep”. To date, the Department of Homeland Security has not commented on or confirmed these reports, and we currently have no information suggesting that our campus, in particular, could be targeted. However, we believe it is still important for all of us to be informed and prepared in order to support and protect vulnerable members of our community.

Principles and Important FAQs

A good first step is to review the University of California Statement of Principles in Support of Undocumented Members of the UC CommunityAdditionally, we urge all of our students, staff, faculty, and administration to carefully review this recently prepared FAQ from the Office of the UC President.

New Rapid Response Team

We have also put in place a rapid response team of campus and outside legal advocates to assist and support with legal advising and advocacy. Members of the team will be available by phone to offer expert legal advice. If you, a student, staff, faculty, or community member becomes aware of ICE officials presence on the campus, please call our Campus Counsel at (510) 642-7791.

Legal Aid and Advice

For students who are concerned about possible ICE arrests, we encourage you to consult with an attorney in order to prepare for possible contact with ICE, and to determine the steps to take for immigration relief. If you desire additional resources and information such as legal referral agencies, please contact the Undocumented Student Program (USP) located in the Cesar Chavez building, call (510) 642-7224 or visit their website at https://undocu.berkeley.edu. USP has produced a Know Your Rights resource that offers helpful information, and also a Staff and Faculty Toolkit.

Given the lack of certainty and clarity regarding ICE’s plans, it is important to remain calm and focused on known facts as we work to provide vulnerable members of our community with the support and services they need. As always, we will work to defend everyone’s right to feel safe and supported on and off campus, and ask that you report any incidents of harassment or other impermissible behaviors through our campus climate reporting system at stophate.berkeley.edu.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to uphold our UC Berkeley values, mission and vision including our value of social justice - supporting the most vulnerable in our community.

Sincerely,

Marc Fisher

Vice Chancellor, Administration

If you are a manager who supervises UC Berkeley employees without email access, please circulate this information to all.

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