Colleges no longer protected from immigration raids

Higher Ed Dive

Kara Arundel

January 21, 2025

Colleges will no longer be off limits for immigration enforcement operations under a directive announced by the new Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday.

The directive ends the practice of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents avoiding “sensitive” areas — including elementary and secondary schools, colleges, hospitals and churches — for enforcement actions.

The announcement came on the first full day of President Donald Trump’s second administration. Trump had promised to enforce more border policies throughout his campaign.

Trump and some Republican supporters have said undocumented immigrants are overwhelming school systems. Recent research, however, has shown that newcomer students instead bring fiscal and academic benefits to school systems.

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