ICE flyer on wall in Pauling C. Photos by Carlos Rodriguez-Picazo

By Corban Stanton
Copy Editor

As Immigrations and Customs Enforcement continues to prompt protests around the country, Clackamas Community College administrators said that the college cannot guarantee the safety of the students, but will try its best to maintain a safe learning environment. 

In a statement on Jan. 16 in a virtual public forum, Casey Layton, Chief Culture and Impact Officer Casey Layton said, “We will do everything in our power to support student needs that are in the college’s rights to do and to uphold any students’ civil rights.”

Some professors and faculty are still worried, though. Over 50 staff members showed up to the meeting on ICE and asked questions over an hour period. Some pushed for role playing activities or more comprehensive guides about ICE protocol. 

When staff wanted more details, Director of Campus Safety Dennis Marks replied, “In a situation where any law enforcement officer walks in and says ‘I need this from you’ or ‘You must do this’ and you tell them, ‘well here is the directive you have to go talk to our leadership or we will call college safety’. If their response is to angrily demand that you do something, they can’t force you to do anything other than not get in their way. So you cannot physically prevent them from walking past you or prevent them from entering a classroom, but our college policy is ‘don’t enter, if you do we will have to take legal action’.” 

The college cannot physically stop ICE, but they do not have to help them either. That is the basis for how all interactions with ICE are scripted to go. 

If ICE is spotted on campus they will not be taking students by surprise. Rave Alert notifications sent by the college will go out to all staff and students. 

Already some students are not showing up to their classes in fear of ICE. Even documented students with undocumented parents are scared according to Fernando Sobrevilla. 

Vice President of Instruction and Student Services David Plotkin told staff, in relation to fear based absences, to have empathy and that there is no widespread policy. In the end it is up to the individual faculty. If instructors are not sure, then they will consult with their dean. 

Some students are not signing up for FAFSA out of fear as well. Fernando Sobrevilla said “I go and I visit high schools and I talk to students, you know, seniors and their parents about, you know, getting into college, and most importantly financial aid. (…) Some of the students — the majority of the students — are American citizens, but their parents are not. So one of the issues that I have been running into is that a lot of parents don’t want to file for FAFSA.”

Fernando Sobrevilla poses for a photo in Wacheno Welcome Center.

The college hopes to help this issue with financial aid nights in Spanish, but still cannot ensure safety. 

With all of this information coming out one professor wanted to go on the record and had something to say. 

“From a humanitarian standpoint there are many of us who stand in absolute solidarity with our students and are committed to providing support in whatever way shape or form that takes. (…)” said Stephanie Murphy, Director of Adult Education. “There are a lot of us who are really committed to this work and recognize it’s a kind of fraught time for our students and we will do whatever we can to provide that support.”

According to fliers posted around the college, lawfully ICE is allowed on campus, but cannot enter classrooms without a signed judicial warrant. 

Staff have been advised to not let ICE enter facilities without campus security checking the validity of warrants. Similarly, staff have been told they are not permitted to give ICE information and steps to take if ICE does show up.

As for students, College President Tim Cook said in an email interview: “Call Campus Safety and don’t engage with them.”

“The college will follow all applicable state and federal laws. Our interest is in providing a safe environment for students and staff.”

The college has encouraged all information about students that is being sent online to either be sent on Microsoft Teams, a more secure messaging service, or over the phone. 

“From what I have heard from ITS, based on our first cybersecurity instance, is that TEAMS is definitely more secure than email, and in email, unfortunately from a business prospect perspective, email is kind of how we do a lot of things.” said Chris Sweet, the college’s Registrar/Enrollment Services Operations Manager. 

The CCC Board of Education is discussing making a statement about ICE.