On Thursday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a man in downtown Ithaca. Now, the University is circulating protocols on how faculty and staff should handle potential interactions with external law enforcement.
The document acknowledges a commitment to adhering to applicable federal, state and local laws while “providing a welcoming environment for students, staff and faculty.”

The protocol given to faculty members.
The first protocol states: “Be calm and courteous; do not take any action that could be perceived as interfering with an officer’s official duties. If you attempt to actively interfere, physically or otherwise, with the actions of an officer, you risk being subject to criminal prosecution.”
The document states that external law enforcement agents, such as ICE, generally do not have permission to search University areas or access student information without “valid legal authorization.” Faculty and staff can not grant access without permission from the Cornell University Police Department and/or the Office of General Counsel.
If presented with documents including a subpoena or warrant, faculty and staff should immediately contact the CUPD — who will pass along the information to OGC — according to the document. Within the University, only members of the CUPD and OGC have the authority to review and validate subpoenas, warrants, requests or other documents the external law enforcement officer may present.
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In his second term, President Donald Trump has intensified immigration regulation, with ICE arresting thousands of migrants since his inauguration.
The Trump administration rescinded guidelines that had previously barred immigration enforcement actions in “sensitive areas” including schools, churches and college campuses, escalating concerns among undocumented individuals.
In an email to University staff and students, Interim President Michael Kotlikoff acknowledged the “significant concerns felt by immigrant and undocumented members of our community.”
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“Cornell remains committed to continuing its support of all members of the university community,” Kotlikoff wrote. “We will comply with university policy and federal law regarding the protection of sensitive personal information.”
ICE has the legal authority to be in public areas without permission. However, Prof. Jaclyn Kelley-Widmer, law — who specializes in immigration and asylum law — clarified that there is no reason to expect an on-campus ICE raid.
“There have been very few incidents of ICE on campus in the last decade or more,” Kelley-Widmer wrote in a statement to The Sun. “We don’t have any particular reason to expect ICE on campus now.”
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects the personally identifiable information of undocumented students and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.
“Cornell remains committed to continuing its support of all members of the university community,” a University spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Sun. “We will comply with university policy and federal law regarding the protection of sensitive personal information.”
Furthermore, a CUPD policy adopted in 2017 outlines the limitations on officers’ role in federal immigration enforcement. The policy states that CUPD officers should not enforce federal immigration law or arrest individuals based solely on their actual or suspected citizenship status.
According to the policy, the Cornell University Police Department “should not honor ICE or [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] requests for certain non-public, sensitive information about an individual” unless compelled by a judicial warrant.
Absent a judicial warrant, CUPD can comply “affirmatively” with ICE detainer requests to detain an individual only if there is “probable cause to believe” an individual has re-entered the country unlawfully after removal or has been convicted of a serious crime — including Class A or Class B felonies.
Kelley-Widmer emphasized that students approached by ICE officers have constitutional rights that they should remain aware of and exercise if needed. Individuals have a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and are not required to answer questions from ICE officers.
Kelley-Widmar encourages every community member, if approached by external law enforcement, to contact the Cornell Public Safety Communications Center at 607-255-1111 or use the RAVE Guardian app and request that CUPD respond.
Maya Schmaling ’28 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].