SLU’s Response to ICE in the NoCo
Recent United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement engagement in the United States, particularly in New York, has warranted St. Lawrence University to act and protect its international students. The threat is real. On March 27, three students, one in elementary school and two in high school, along with their mother, were detained by ICE in Jefferson County, Sackets Harbor, NY. The incident occurred just 72 miles away from SLU – creating fear in the SLU community.
President Kathryn Morris said that the university has plans in case law enforcement enters campus. Morris said that if a student was detained by ICE, she, General Counsel John Christopher and Director of Safety and Security Patrick Gagnon would do everything they can to advocate for due process. “Hopefully, the student would have been following our processes and procedures on campus, which would make it really easy to protect and defend them,” said Morris. “I can’t overturn what the federal government can do, but I would certainly be advocating for the student.”
Gagnon said that all law enforcement requests must go through safety and security first. “We would have the student come to our office so it’s more discreet and police aren’t running through the residence,” said Gagnon. “I’m going to get in touch with our legal [Christopher] and just describe for him or even give him a copy of what we’re being asked to present. And then we’ll go from there. That’s the plan.”
According to the Canton Sheriff’s Office, it would leave it up to ICE to investigate any case in Canton. If violence occurred, ICE would call the sheriff’s office for assistance. The Chief of the Canton Police Department, Ryan Cole, said that ICE would not contact them and that federal jurisdiction is out of their control. Gagnon has been tracking St. Lawrence County for law enforcement activity in relation to the federal government – closely working with the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium. “Key point, we’re not seeing activity on here,” said Gagnon. “It doesn’t seem that there’s an interest in coming to college campuses.”
Morris and her team have closely been monitoring the executive orders, “we have been reading them carefully and seeking advice from external organizations to help us to understand their potential impact on our campus,” she said. Morris traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities conference.
“There’s been a lot of time and effort dedicated to understanding what’s coming out of the federal government,” said Morris. “And then think about what’s St. Lawrence spot in all of that.”
Christopher said that a team of people, which include student life, himself and an immigration lawyer, had organized informative sessions for international students to discuss federal issues they might face. Morris said that twice since the presidential election, all international students have been invited to attend a session.
Two international student activists who decided to remain anonymous are concerned about their freedom of speech in the U.S. amid fears of ICE entering campus. “I don’t feel safe off campus. On campus, I feel a little safer because I know people [the administration] are trying really hard,” one of them said. “But [the administration] isn’t balancing panic with information well, but I think there’s only so much that they can do.” Both students attended Christopher’s legal session, “he talked a lot about when they [law enforcement] can check your phones and when they can’t, and what if you’ve been a part of protests, so it was helpful.”
Both students are members of Students for Justice, an organization that advocates for social justice. They plan to have members with U.S. citizenship represent the club due to their legal advantage. “You have freedom of speech if you are American – if you are a white American. If you are not, then that piece of paper that has your views on it is always going to be used against you,” said the second student. “I think I’m generally pretty scared — also being from a country that’s not necessarily appreciated by the U.S. right now.”
Damon Berry, department chair of Religious Studies and a member of the faculty council, is concerned that international students can be detained without proper legal checks. “I don’t like the idea at all of faceless people in plain clothes saying, trust me I’m from ICE,” said Berry. “There is the humanitarian crisis of shipping these people around without any oversight, without any real due process, without any checks and balances at all.” Berry urges that citizens should speak up for non-citizens, “We [faculty] have latitude, we have access, we have resources, and if we don’t use it, shame on us,” he said.