Santa Rosa Junior College faculty and staff crowded into workshops on supporting undocumented students for the spring semester Professional Development Day held at the Lindley Center on Feb. 13.
More than 150 SRJC district faculty and staff attended at least one of the three workshops that focused on supporting immigrant communities. Attendees had many questions about how best to support students and what actions to take if immigration agents stepped foot on campus.
Everyone has constitutional rights, regardless of immigration status
VIDAS, the immigrant legal advocacy and services nonprofit, presented a “Know Your Rights” workshop to another packed room during the third session.
More than 40 attendees asked questions during the session led by immigration attorney Julie Cyphers, who provides free legal advice at the SRJC Dream Center and law offices in Sonoma County.
“It’s important to remember that everyone has constitutional rights regardless of their immigration status in the United States,” Cyphers said. “This means that, regardless of immigration status, a person has the right to remain silent and to ask for a lawyer. A person does not have to answer any questions posed by an immigration agent, including their name, where they were born, where they came from or how they got here.”
“You do not have to open your door,” Cyphers said, unless an agent has a judicial warrant with your name on it that was signed at the top by a judge.
“What we’re hearing a lot from people is that Immigration is issuing their own warrants. They’re just signing their own warrants,” Cyphers said. “If it’s just issued by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration Customs Enforcement, signed by the immigration officer themselves, that is not legally valid. So a person should not open their door.”
Don’t engage, don’t consent
More than 60 faculty and staff filled every desk, the floor and a row of extra chairs at the first session in Room 283 of the Lindley Center to hear Dr. Molly Senecal, vice president of student services, and Beatriz Camargo, director of student outreach present “SRJC’s Proposed Best Practices for Supporting Undocumented Students.”
This session built on informational sessions held during the fall semester as well as spring semester communications from the president’s office, and on the initial response by administration after President Donald Trump promised to enforce “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
The main message to all campus members was: If anyone sees an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, they should notify the president’s office immediately. If an ICE agent approaches an individual or classroom, they should direct the agent to the president’s office. Campus members should avoid speaking to immigration enforcement officers. If possible, they should document where and when the agent was seen and send that information to the president’s office. Finally, the president’s office encouraged campus members to stay informed about campus resources, such as guidance for students enrolled in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
The district prepared laminated flyers summarizing these best practices, which have been placed in every classroom across all SRJC sites.
“If you happen to run into [ICE agents], or they come to your office, to your desk, this is what you can give them, and it basically says that all inquiries and requests need to go to the president’s office,” Camargo said. “The information for Dr Garcia is right there. You don’t have to escort them. You just have to give them the paper. If you feel like you want to escort them, you can, but you’re not obligated to do any of that.”
Immigration agents may not enter private spaces. If they try, “Don’t physically get in the way and try to stop them,” Senecal said.
While the primary message – “Don’t engage, don’t consent” – rang clear, attendees had many questions about specific circumstances and locations.
Many attendees asked for a clear definition of what constituted public versus private space on campus. Faculty attendees wanted to know if their classroom is considered public and what the protocols would be for classes held off site. Staff attendees asked about office spaces in lobbies of campus buildings.
The district had earlier clarified that classrooms are private spaces, as are spaces designated “Staff” or “Faculty,” such as offices.
But the presenters did not have answers to all of the questions.
Some classes are held in spaces that don’t resemble traditional classrooms with doors that close. For example, what about classes held on the softball field or in the swimming pool, asked Monica Ohkubo, a kinesiology instructor.
Instructors from the Roseland campus asked how the district would support them during evening classes when the administrative offices are closed.
“We have quite a few classes that are in the evening, and I think you addressed that by, ‘You could call the campus police,’” said April Oliver, English for multilingual students faculty. “But because much of the campus is not open in the evening, there’s limitations on where we can bring our students. We don’t have that luxury with that.”
Katy Jamshidi, an SRJC biology instructor, wanted to know if she should lock her classroom door if an immigration officer was on campus. Senecal and SRJC spokesperson Sarah Pew responded they would follow up with district legal counsel to determine whether this response is appropriate.
Attendees also wanted clarification about documenting the presence of immigration officials on campus. Some asked about recording and many had questions about the legality of recording in public or private spaces. Senecal promised to look into the legality issues and reminded attendees the importance of documenting when and where immigration agents were seen on campus. Recording or photographing things or individuals in public spaces is protected by the Constitution, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Senecal promised that the district would follow up with guidance for the more complicated questions. “We are reviewing the notes and follow-up items from the session. Where appropriate, we will share relevant information with the District, community and/or faculty through existing communications channels, including training and resources,” Pew said on Feb. 19.
Many attendees had suggestions for how the district could offer more support. For example, one faculty member suggested the district suggest specific language communicating best practices to include on a syllabus. Others suggested an SRJC alert if ICE is seen on campus, training on how to respond to what is likely to be a stressful situation and guidance on how to train students in appropriate responses.
“The most important part that we can do is help our students and our community stay calm,” Camargo said. Because I know from experience with my family, we see ICE, we see the notifications, and it’s like, ‘Okay, we gotta run.’ But we want to stay calm.”
Above all, “Do not consent to anything. Don’t engage. Be polite,” Senecal said.
The First Gen Empower group hosted “Undocu Ally Training” in the second session. The presentation was the first of a three-part series, with the second and third trainings to be held on March 6 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on the Santa Rosa campus and April 20 from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the Petaluma campus. The trainings are for SRJC faculty, staff and administrators; those seeking information about the sessions can contact Beatriz Camargo.
Former SRJC student Ariana Aparicio Aguilar encouraged faculty to keep in mind which employment avenues are available to undocumented students, which vary by state. She introduced participants to higher education immigration data resources and demonstrated what licensing regulations looked like in California. They compared California’s broad protections which enable many individuals to own businesses, regardless of citizenship status, to states with more limitations.
Cyphers, of VIDAS, encouraged attendees to have on hand red and yellow cards, which are available at the SRJC Dream Center. Pocket-sized red cards, promoted by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, spell out constitutional rights which cover anyone in the United States, regardless of immigration status. Yellow cards, locally available from the North Bay Organizing Project, provide the number for the Rapid Response Network which documents and shares the presence of immigration enforcement agents.
While VIDAS offers free legal counsel to students, it cannot cover all costs associated with court cases. However, SRJC still strives to support its students in this regard.
“We have a lot of partners who are helping us with this group and so forth, the legal services for undocumented students, but it doesn’t cover the fees,” Senecal said. “There are fees that they would have to pay if they’re filing certain court documents. So the [SRJC] Foundation is working with us, and they provide us some funding to be able to support students who need to file certain documents.”
