Infographic by Daisy Calderon Arredondo

While the university has not provided an official statement regarding recent immigration raids across Ventura County, Ward said Cal Lutheran has a “history of supporting all students.”

As the Trump administration continues its nationwide immigration raids, per ABC 7 news, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success Matt Ward said California Lutheran University will uphold its existing university protocols on immigration enforcement. 

According to California Legislative Information, Assembly Bill 21 took effect in California in 2018 and guides protection policies regarding undocumented students, faculty, and staff. The bill states that public schools, universities, and institutions receiving Cal Grant funding must “refrain from disclosing personal information concerning students, faculty, and staff, except under specified circumstances.” 

Associate Professor of Sociology Cynthia Duarte said university protocol regarding this topic is simple and is purposefully this way so that it can be followed by students, staff and faculty alike. Currently, the focus is reminding the Cal Lutheran community of the existing protocol.  

“Even though I’m really confident in the protocols we’ve always had in place, I think the thing that I’m hearing now is just people are like, ‘What is it? I don’t remember,’” Duarte said. “We’re trying to get the information out as best we can. So we’re not in a situation in which we don’t know what we’re doing.” 

Per Cal Lutheran’s website, the university is required by law to “implement rules about access to personal information and the campus, provide access to certain resources, take certain actions if immigration enforcement is anticipated, and designate a school official responsible for implementing the steps above.” 

According to NBC News, President Trump has signed more executive orders within his first 10 days in office, than any previous president has within their first 100 days. Among those, was the “Protecting The American People Against Invasion” order. The order seeks to execute immigration enforcement to a degree unseen by previous presidential administrations. 

“In light of the more aggressive stance by this administration and the potential for increased enforcement, our focus is more on knowledge dissemination and education for those who could be involved in a response,” Ward said. 

Duarte said Cal Lutheran’s immigration enforcement policies have been solidified for several years now. 

“[University policies are] not in light of what’s happening. The protocol we have has been in effect since about 2018, 2017, 2018. So what we’re doing now is reminding people what has always been,” Duarte said. 

Ward said that if students and faculty were to see an immigration officer on campus, the first step would be to immediately call Campus Safety. Campus Safety officers are then instructed to contact Ward’s office. As the designated “point of contact” for immigration encounters, Ward said it is his responsibility to interact with immigration officials and verify the validity of any warrants. 

“The subpoena has to be signed by a federal judge. And if it’s not, then, you know, even if it’s directory information, we do not have to provide any kind of information about a person that an official might be seeking to detain,” Ward said. 

According to the Cal Lutheran Office of the President website, while Campus Safety helps facilitate interactions between immigration officers and Ward, they do not bear the responsibility to carry out law enforcement orders, 

“Campus Safety’s role is to maintain a safe and secure environment at Cal Lutheran. Campus Safety will not undertake joint efforts with federal immigration enforcement authorities to investigate, detain, or arrest individuals for violation of federal immigration law,” the website says. 

Ward said due to Cal Lutheran’s open campus, there are several public spaces that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer could technically walk into; however, the university website provides a list of various non-public spaces where an officer would need the warrant to enter. 

“There are protocols for that, but we need to advance our education and training, so there is no misunderstanding,” Ward said. “Faculty who are in a classroom have this reasonable expectation of privacy and, are– and if someone were to knock on the door or come to the door there, they do not need to let that person in the classroom. They do not need to identify anybody in the classroom.” 

Duarte said these policies apply to all forms of law enforcement, including the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department or the Los Angeles Police Department. 

“We cannot just have random people, like I said, even if it was LAPD or Ventura County sheriffs…We’re not going to be sort of letting something like that happen. And it’s not happening,” Duarte said. “We’re not having ICE come on campus right now. That is not something that’s happening right now.”

While the university has not provided an official statement regarding recent immigration raids across Ventura County, Ward said Cal Lutheran has a “history of supporting all students.”

“The university is not in the business of taking a political stance on immigration or the business of immigration enforcement,” Ward said. “But we do take a strong stance on creating a safe environment because we are in the business of education and in the business of both providing access regardless of veteran status, immigration status, sexual orientation, and different kinds of identities that– that students might bring. And, it’s our mission and who we are to support all of them.”