University ‘not aware’ of reported ICE agents on campus after rumors spread

Multiple reports of the presence of U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) were made on social media, dorm channels and mailing lists Friday afternoon. 

The University is “not aware of ICE agents on campus,” University spokesperson Dee Mostofi wrote in an email to The Daily. 

Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) president Diego Kagurabadza ’25 also wrote in an email to students Friday evening that they “cannot verify” reported sightings of “an ICE agent” on campus.

The Daily has reached out to the ASSU for comment.

Bill Larson, spokesperson for Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS), told The Daily that SUDPS is not aware of ICE agents on campus. 

A post shared on Instagram by Stanford Asian American Action Committee (SAAAC) and Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) on Friday afternoon reported that “ICE agents [were] confirmed present on Stanford campus.”

The Instagram post said that around 4 p.m., members of the Muslin, Arab and Palestinian (MAP) committee “confirmed through Stanford Administration that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents are currently present at Stanford.”

According to Alexander Key, associate professor of comparative literature and former co-chair of the MAP committee, “the MAP Committee charge has expired and while members of the committee have continued to consult with leadership, the committee no longer exists.” Key also wrote that he hasn’t heard of any reports of the physical presence of ICE agents on campus.

These rumors follow an executive order made on Jan. 20 by the Trump administration to “faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people.”

In an effort to carry out these orders, ICE agents visited multiple campuses to locate students participating in pro-Palestine protests and those without legal visas. Students from Columbia University and Tufts University were detained by ICE agents as part of these investigations.

Rumors of ICE agents also circulated at UC Berkeley on Tuesday, which were later reported to be unsubstantiated.

SAAAC and SJP’s post was shared across several other Instagram accounts, including Students for Workers’ Rights (SWR) and Stanford Tech for Liberation, leading dozens to repost it on their stories.

Notices spread across several other platforms as well, including GroupMe and Fizz. One Fizz post said that ICE agents were around the William H. Neukom Building at Stanford Law School (SLS).

Jayashri Srikantiah, SLS professor and director of the Immigrants Rights Clinic, wrote in an email that was forwarded to multiple groups that the clinic had “investigated this rumor” and found that it was “not substantiated.” 

News of Srikantiah’s email rapidly spread throughout campus. Shortly after, the initial Instagram posts of ICE sightings were taken down across all accounts. The groups posted announcements shortly after that they “received mistaken information that ICE agents were physically present on campus.”

Kagurabadza’s email to students also included a list of resources for any issues related to immigration and immigration enforcement scenarios.

The Daily has reached out to the groups that shared the posts on Instagram (SWR, SAAAC, SJP) for comment. 

The post University ‘not aware’ of reported ICE agents on campus after rumors spread appeared first on The Stanford Daily.