In recent weeks, rumors of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the Upper Valley have swept through the community — spreading through social media posts, student group chats and word of mouth. The rumors reflect national fears of stricter immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration and have sparked responses from students and administration alike.
On Feb. 12, the Student Worker Collective at Dartmouth held a rally against, among other concerns, “ICE raid threats,” according to flyers posted across campus. Protesters chanted “say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE” and called on the College to not comply if ICE visits campus. Dartmouth Student Government, meanwhile, met with College President Sian Leah Beilock on Feb. 2 to ask how the College would respond to an ICE visit.
The College has also responded to immigration-related anxieties. Last week, the Office of Visa and Immigration Services and the International Student Experience office hosted a “Know Your Rights” session with ACLU of New Hampshire legal director Gilles Bissonette and senior staff attorney Sang Yeob Kim to discuss ICE and other immigration policy changes. According to Bissonette, the College invited the attorneys — who discussed immigrant rights on campus three times during the first Trump presidency — to “help alleviate some of the confusion” surrounding policy changes.
While the attorneys said they were familiar with the ICE raid rumors — noting that some community members had called the New Hampshire ACLU regarding a potential ICE presence in the Upper Valley — Bissonette clarified that the rumors are “unconfirmed.”
“These rumors [about raids] reflect the extreme uncertainty and anxiety in the air,” Bissonette said.
Both Bissonette and Kim said they are also unaware of any planned ICE checkpoints in the Upper Valley — a sentiment echoed by Hanover Police Department lieutenant Michael Schibuola. According to Schibuola, section 265:1-d of the Road Safety Authority states that police departments must notify the public when an immigration checkpoint is scheduled to occur within 24 hours of the checkpoint or “as soon as is practical.”
Nonetheless, students remain unsure of current immigration policy. Alejandra Carrasco Alayo ’25, an international student from Peru, said there is “a lot of uncertainty” among international students regarding current immigration measures.
The “Know Your Rights” event — attended by approximately 50 community members — focused on what undocumented students can and should do if confronted by law enforcement. Bisonnette noted that the attorneys could not provide official legal advice, but could instead share “general rules of the road, which will be different in every situation.”
For example, the attorneys noted that students approached by ICE can remain silent and check their warrant for a valid judge’s signature. Bissonette explained that ICE will sometimes imply that they have a judge’s signature when they are in fact presenting a warrant signed by a different government official.
“Almost nine out of 10 … immigration agency officers do not have warrants signed by a judge,” Bissonette said. “They show the warrant signed by their own supervisor, and they say, ‘We have a warrant to enter your residence.’”
During the session, Bissonette explained that the current Trump administration has turned to expedited removal — deportation without a legal hearing for those who cannot prove they have been in the country longer than two years.
“The big objective of the current administration is mass deportation,” Bissonette said. “Now, how will they achieve it? It’s a little bit unclear, but that’s their end goal.”
The attorneys also addressed concerns regarding student visas. On Jan. 29, Trump issued an executive order to combat antisemitism by ordering colleges to monitor student protesters on student visas. Kim advised student visa holders to be “careful.”
“The student visa is vulnerable,” Kim said. “[Student visa holders are] more vulnerable than asylum seekers because the government has a lot of discretion and power.”
The College’s role in potential immigration enforcement has also been a hot topic on campus. According to a document on the protocol for law enforcement agency visits, information known by the College about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and undocumented students is “protected” under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.
“It is Dartmouth’s policy to cooperate with outside agencies as required by law while protecting the rights and privacy of our students, scholars, faculty and staff,” the document states.
Carrasco Alayo, who attended the DSG meeting with Beilock, expressed dissatisfaction with College policies regarding ICE.
“I was in the meeting for DSG on Sunday, and I asked … ‘Is there an emergency plan in case ICE comes here and starts deporting people and starts taking students from this institution?’” Carrasco Alayo said.
According to past reporting by The Dartmouth, Beilock reiterated the official Dartmouth policy for handling immigration officers on campus — which is to call the Department of Safety and Security and ask for the Dean on call. Carrasco Alayo said Beilock’s response was “not satisfying” and claimed that there is no campus outlet for “scared” students to “raise their concerns.”
“President Beilock is doing absolutely nothing — she’s not addressing what is going on with the mass deportations in other parts of the country,” Carrasco Alayo said. “She’s not even talking about what we are going to do as a community in case that happens here.”
According to a campus-wide email from senior vice president for community and campus life Jennifer Rosales and chief health and wellness officer Estevan Garcia, the International Student Experience office has been meeting with groups of students to “ensure they know the resources available to them.”
During the SWCD’s rally yesterday, protesters also criticized Dartmouth’s messaging surrounding the rumored ICE raids. Through a megaphone, SWCD chair Felipe Mendonca ’27 said the group was “asking for the College to not cooperate with ICE.”
“Most of our union is international students, both of our bargaining units [are] international students and we are scared,” he said during the protest. “We see that the College [does] not protect us, and that’s why the union’s here. The union needs to protect us because the College won’t.”
The union plans to meet with the College’s legal counsel tomorrow for a bargaining session, according to Mendonca.
OVIS declined to comment.
