Federal Immigration Officials on Campus
Recent events have heightened awareness of the threat that immigration enforcement proceedings can pose to our community's undocumented students and their families. The following guidelines are intended to help SMC faculty, staff, and visitors understand their role and responsibilities if there are concerns about the presence of immigration officials on any of our campuses.
If a federal immigration official requests access to a:
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District Facility,
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District Records, or
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Student Information;
or if you have concerns about the presence of a federal immigration official on campus:
Then:
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Stay Calm. Don't cause panic. Rumors or false information about enforcement actions on campus can spread anxiety and panic. Instead of assuming the worst, take charge and follow these steps to ensure the best outcome.
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Inform the officer you are not impeding the agency's process but need to refer them to Campus Police. Do not provide any other information or answer questions. Providing false information to a federal official is a serious crime – providing no information is not.
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Contact Campus Police at 310-434-4608. Campus Police will log the interaction and immediately engage the Superintendent-President and legal counsel to resolve the situation.
Campus Police will not enforce federal immigration laws.Campus Police will neither contact, detain, question, or arrest any individual on the sole basis of suspected undocumented status nor work in concert with federal immigration officials for immigration enforcement purposes. However, they are best equipped to deal with other law enforcement agencies.
Immigration enforcement officials cannot access all areas of campus without asking permission.While SMC is a public college, and the areas on campus that are open to the public are also open to law enforcement officials, limited access areas – such as locked offices, classrooms, or areas marked "authorized personnel – are off-limits without official district permission.