Our campus and country have been taken by a storm of terrifying news articles, ICE videos that look like muggings and fearful uncertainty. International students and professors have been detained for their political views. On April 7, The Dartmouth reported that two Dartmouth students lost their visas with no apparent rationale.
Shortly into President Trump’s tenure, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security permitted immigration enforcement into what were previously known as “sensitive areas,” including churches, hospitals, schools, and college campuses. This overturned past practice — in 2021, the Biden administration required U.S. Immigrant and Customs Enforcement agents to avoid operating in the aforementioned areas “to the fullest extent possible” to not “restrain people’s access to essential services.”
Given this widespread panic, Dartmouth administration has not done enough to protect our students and assuage their fears. Dartmouth must recognize that it facilitates essential services, which benefit both the students and the broader community, and practice its right to limit ICE’s presence on campus.
During a Student Worker Collective at Dartmouth meeting on March 31, multiple UGAs reported that their training on how to respond to ICE provided insufficient information. SWCD is the nation’s fifth undergraduate labor union, which represents Dartmouth Dining workers as well as Undergraduate Advisors. Students were told to follow their moral code, though by doing so they might risk losing their jobs — and that ultimately, the Office of Residential Life staff wouldn’t instruct them what to do. In the instance of an ICE sighting, students were encouraged to call Safety and Security or the Office of Visa and Immigration Services, which is now overseen by Matthew Raymer ’03, a political ally of President Donald Trump, and the former chief counsel at the Republican National Committee that advocated for revoking birthright citizenship. An interesting move for a place that says it follows institutional neutrality.
This poor communication has been part of a larger problem. For the broader student body, specific and accurate guidance on how to deal with ICE has not been readily available or disseminated. For example, by law, students and staff do not have to answer ICE officers if they stop and ask questions, and ICE cannot enter dorms or non-public buildings without a judicial warrant. But what parts of campus are non-public versus public?
Dartmouth needs to clarify what parts of campus are safe from ICE. Under the law, ICE may not enter non-public campus areas without consent from a campus official or a judicial warrant for criminal arrest or search. This must be a judicial warrant, not civil or administrative, the types ICE most commonly uses. Even if there is an order of removal or deportation, without the aforementioned warrant, Dartmouth does not have to grant ICE access to non-public spaces or help them with finding a student. Established non-public spaces include monitored entryways, dormitories, spaces that require ID card access and, even if unlocked during work hours, administrative offices or occupied classrooms.
Dartmouth can expand these non-public spaces through policy as a private university. As an open access campus with unrestricted entry to most common areas, the Green, and outdoor spaces, Dartmouth needs to make it clear that ICE is not welcome in these areas so that students are not living their daily lives in fear.
My recommendations to the College are this: First, distribute accurate “Know Your Rights” resources. Disseminate “Red Cards,” which inform readers of immigration rights. Train all professors, administrators, staff, and Safety and Security officers on the legal rights and practices they should uphold in the event of ICE on campus. Most importantly, the Dartmouth community deserves transparency on clear and cohesive response policy.
Dartmouth must state that it will not allow ICE access to any part of Dartmouth College or any students’ information without a signed judicial arrest or search warrant, similarly to Wesleyan University, the University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College. This policy must also be clearly and widely communicated. To this end, the SWCD, composed of student-labor organizers hailing from a range of activist groups on campus, has already proposed this in contract negotiations with the College on March 6. SWCD advocated for a sanctuary campus model and a $15,000 legal assistance fund for international and noncitizen student workers.
We are all equal parts of this community. Dartmouth maintains its high standard of education not because its students exist in a silo or echo chamber, but because of our immense diversity. I can proudly say I learn as much from my peers studying here as I do from professors — and I hope it remains this way. Dartmouth must protect its students, starting with those who are the most vulnerable in this moment.
Harper Richardson is a member of the Class of 2027.Guest columns represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
