TALHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Police departments at least three public universities in Florida are seeking agreements with the federal government to carry out immigration enforcement on campus.
This is a major change in school policies that were previously thought to be “delicate places” being isolated from such law enforcement activities under federal policies revoked by the Trump administration.
The change comes as federal officials use what they say is a new tactic with ambiguous justification to revoke international students’ visas and drive some students out of the country.
Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, the University of Florida in Gainesville, and the University of South Florida in Tampa are all trying to represent campus police for immigration enforcement.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is signing new laws that prioritize support for President Donald Trump’s massive deportation agenda and require local and state agencies to use “best efforts” to help enforce federal immigration.
FAU spokesman Joshua Grantzer said Florida’s “all state schools” are expected to pursue an expanded immigration enforcement agency.
“We are following guidance from the governor’s February 19th order to state law enforcement agencies, including FAUPD and other state university police departments,” Grantzer said in a statement.
The school is not yet listed in the online logs of institutions participating in what is known as the 287(g) program. This allows immigration and customs enforcement agencies to train selected law enforcement officers and represent them to assist in enforcing immigration laws.
If approved, the university’s police department could be the first person in the country to be granted such authority.
Under the 287(g) task force model, such as contracts pursued by the University of Florida, participating officers will have the authority to question “an alien or someone believed to be an alien” for their right to remain in the country and, in some cases, the power to arrest them without a warrant.
Jenica Charles, a political science student at FAU, said the news was “shocking.” The Haitian immigrant daughter said she found a welcoming community at schools in South Florida. In recent years, FAU has charged itself with having a “racially and culturally diverse student body” in Florida’s public university system.
“Who’s going to stop me and say, ‘Oh, I don’t seem to belong here,'” Charles said. “There’s no doubt that people feel less safe, whether you have immigration status or not.”
The President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration is one of the organisations that provide guidance to school administrators as they navigate this new level of government scrutiny on American university campuses.
Group CEO Miriam Feldblum says the increase in enforcement will allow students to avoid school resources such as counseling or separating them from campus life.
“The university campus should be a safe place for learning, support and growth,” Feldbrum said. “Transforming them into an immigration enforcement site undermines our fundamental ability to promote a safe, inclusive, accidental, academic environment.”
___Kate Payne is a legional member of the Associated Press/Reports’ American State University News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit, national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on infiltrated issues.
