By Nico Patakidis

Formed in the fall 2025 semester, Community Resilience Steering Group (CRSG) has provided presentations across campus to inform students, faculty and staff about what procedures the university will follow if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were to come onto campus.

What is CRSG?

CRSG was formulated at the request of the University Senate to have a larger team that could prepare for, and respond accordingly to, potential ICE activity on campus. In a special Associated Students (A.S.) meeting held on April 1, Division of Enrollment Management & Student Success Vice President and CRSG member Chrissy Holliday discussed in detail what the University response to ICE presence would look like in different scenarios and how students can respond themselves. 

In the presentation to A.S., Holliday discussed two kinds of responses that CRSG would take, formal and informal. Formal responses to ICE activity include actions that are based in California State University (CSU) policy and California law. 

“The university self-selected to create a group to help build a larger scaffold of initiatives to bolster our work,” Acting Vice President for Administration & Finance and CRSG member Mike Fisher said. “[CRSG works] particularly around preparation and response, but during an event is really what’s part of CSU policy, state law and some other things.”

Informal responses are the actions CRSG will take to connect with the community, and make others aware of what procedures would be followed. CRSG has been meeting with groups such as university housing staff, the Dreamer Center and A.S. in order to get feedback from the campus community. 

“We’re trying to capture the audiences that are very different across campus and pull them into this important work in a more cohesive way,” Fisher said. 

What if ICE comes on campus?

ICE is not permitted entry to any buildings on campus as they are considered private, which Holliday said includes residence halls and the library. ICE may only enter private spaces on campus if they have the correct judicial warrant — not an administrative warrant. A judicial warrant that would allow entry must be signed by a judge, whereas an administrative warrant is signed by an employee of the federal government. CRSG has staff who are trained to verify these warrants before ICE can take any further action. Should ICE enter any private spaces, Holliday said that members of CRSG and UPD would arrive to remove them, although it may not be immediate and could take time. Additionally, any action that ICE takes in a private space without the correct JUMP warrant is illegal. While ICE does not have access to private spaces such as buildings on campus, they may still walk around campus pathways, sidewalks, the main quad and art quad. 

“We’re notified, we respond immediately, we intercept, we create time and space,” Fisher said. “We need to follow the law as an institution in the state of California… to create time and space is to allow for our community to react appropriately, to allow them time to make an informed decision about what they would need to do to protect themselves.” 

Holliday said that there are other scenarios in which ICE may come to campus for reasons other than immigration enforcement. This can include activity related to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, administrative matters such as reviewing visas or career fairs. In this case, the university would notify the campus ahead of time. Holliday also said that in the unlikely event that ICE attends a career fair the university is not allowed to prohibit them, but would notify campus ahead of time. In any other case that ICE is on campus, planned or not, the university would first verify ICE presence and then send notifications via text and email. 

Should anyone on campus be approached by ICE or see them on campus, CRSG encourages that person to call Interim AVP and Chief Human Resources Officer Michelle Caisse at (707) 826-4501 or UPD at (707) 826-5555 immediately and not engage. Holliday said that CRSG does not want anyone to worry about facing charges and to allow the designated staff from CRSG handle any interactions with ICE.

“Our intent is to follow the law and to do what needs to be done…” Holliday said. “I don’t think we have any way of knowing what would happen in the moment. What we can do is try to limit who on campus feels the weight of that by saying, ‘Here are the people who are interacting’.”

Warrants and Subpoenas

CRSG has staff that are trained to understand warrants and verify whether or not it is the correct warrant that would grant ICE entry into private spaces. Staff are also trained to verify subpoenas that would provide access to student or staff records. However, even if ICE provides a correct warrant, they will not be granted immediate access to private spaces or records. Following verification, CRSG would notify the campus community of this information. 

Will UPD enforce immigration law?

Under California State Code SB-54, state, local and school law enforcement may not enforce immigration law or assist in enforcement. University Police Department (UPD), as well as Arcata Police Department, can not investigate, detain or arrest any person due to their immigration status. Anyone approached by ICE is encouraged by CRSG to contact UPD and Human Resources and let them handle any further interactions. 

What if a campus community member needs legal aid?

Currently, CRSG does not offer any legal resources. Holliday instead said that the CSU has been in partnership since 2019 with The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), an organization that provides a variety of immigration related legal services and support for undocumented students. Holliday said that in the case someone in the campus community is involved in immigration activity, CHIRLA is a resource that can provide legal support.

“There are state and CSU-sponsored resources that we can tap into because of our affiliations, and that is where I think the power lies with our students, faculty and staff being supported by the university directly,” Fisher said.

Addressing demands for a sanctuary campus

During the two occupations on campus this semester, protestors demanded that the university implement a sanctuary campus policy. Since 2017, Arcata has been declared a sanctuary city. Fisher said that the university and CRSG have been following the generally-accepted guidelines for what sanctuary cities are despite the university not being officially declared a sanctuary campus. 

“The use of the term ‘sanctuary’ in this political climate can have adverse affects,” Fisher said. “But we’re doing all the protections that the sanctuary title would carry with it… that’s why sanctuary is, in this political climate, problematic for our vulnerable communities, not the university.”

Holliday said that she feels the work CRSG is doing is bigger than what a sanctuary campus would be, because the university would not be acting individually and would instead be backed by state law and CSU policy, which she believes offers a broader depth of protection. Along with demands for a sanctuary campus, protestors advocated for the university to offer legal resources to members of campus that may need it.  

“I think all of the things people are wanting us to say we will and won’t do are exactly what we’ve said,” Holliday said. “We want to make sure that anything we’re doing is adding value and not duplicating.”

El Centro Coordinator and CRSG member Brenda Perez, one of the advocates and leaders of the sanctuary county campaign, said she will always defend the importance of declaring spaces as safe sanctuaries for Indigenous migrant communities. However, she still respects the perspectives of other CRSG members and believes it’s important to listen to experiences from those who have been on other universities campuses where ICE has been present. Perez said she believes that when the campus is ready to become a sanctuary, the community will know — but it is a process. 

“Students should know that through their everyday actions, they are the ones who create sanctuary,” Perez said. “There is a difference between a title or a legal designation, and daily practice. Sanctuary must be something we live collectively, every day.”

How will CRSG continue?

At the moment, CRSG is only a steering group, which is a group meant to oversee a specific project or initiative, without plans to solidify the group as its own committee. However, Fisher said that the group has been discussing potential professional development opportunities through training student mentors in CRSG procedures. CRSG is still developing and seeking feedback on how to better support the community from groups across campus.

“We hope that this initial momentum will be operationalized for a long run,” Fisher said. “This will always be something that we want to do as a university.”

Nico is the photo editor with an interest in covering local government and political affairs. In his free time he enjoys hanging out and having fun with his friends. Reach him at np211@humboldt.edu.