The University of North Florida has finalized its agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that authorizes trained UNF police officers to carry out immigration enforcement on its Southside campus.
So far, UNF President Moez Limayem said none of the university’s uniformed police have been trained to do so.
Once trained and authorized, a campus officer can interrogate or arrest someone without a warrant — if they believe the person “is in violation of law and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.”
A statement sent Monday to the UNF community included what to do if encountering an ICE agent on campus.
“At this time, none of UNF’s University Police Department officers have been trained by ICE, and no training has been scheduled,” Limayem wrote. “UPD continues to conduct business as usual. There has been no reported ICE activity on UNF’s campus.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis directed state law enforcement agencies on Feb. 19 to work with ICE to execute functions of federal immigration enforcement within the state. That also included all of the state’s 12 university police departments.
The agreement formulated for universities is basically the same agreement sent to all 67 sheriff’s offices in Florida.
The memo spells out the terms and conditions of how university police officers will be trained to perform nine functions of an immigration officer under ICE’s supervision.
Florida State College at Jacksonville, the other state system in the city, has not been asked to enter into an immigration agreement for police, spokesperson Jill Johnson said.
“I understand that we do not have a large enough department to be considered,” Johnson said. “As to how we would handle agents on campus, we would manage that how we would handle any law enforcement on campus — in a professional manner. We would not impede in the actions of federal or other law enforcement agencies.”
In a statement issued in February, state Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, already stated her opposition to UNF’s campus police working on ICE’s behalf.
Nixon wrote that the ICE agreement is “dangerous” to UNF students. Since “the Trump regime’s hostile government takeover, no one is safe from political abduction and disappearing without a trial,” Nixon said.
Meanwhile, UNF’s campus announcement included a list of questions and answers regarding any visit by an ICE agent. It says:
- If ICE or any federal agency asks for information or to be allowed into a limited-access area, staff and students are told to immediately refer them to campus police.
- If the ICE officer persists in questioning them, can a student or staff ask for identification? UNF says they can ask, but ICE is “only obligated to show you if they are dressed in plain clothes,” followed by a warning.
- Staff or students should not interfere with or obstruct the officer’s actions or requests, even if the officer insists on moving forward without a warrant, subpoena or court order. “If you desire, you are allowed to film an encounter with ICE officers in public spaces. However, you should position yourself at least 25 feet away so as to not obstruct the ICE officer,” the university says.
- It is unlikely an ICE agent will answer questions about where they are taking a person or how long they will be detained. No one can go with the student if the ICE officer takes them somewhere, UNF advises.
UNF is also speaking to all of its international students with immigration reminders, including travel guidance about maintaining visa status.
