California Lutheran University hosted a virtual “Know Your Rights” workshop on Feb. 18, 2025.
The workshop was conducted and presented by Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success Matt Ward, and Vannesa Frank, an immigration attorney in Ventura and Cal Lutheran alum.
It provided Cal Lutheran faculty with legal information as well as strategies to deal with issues pertaining to immigration.
Cindy Duarte, an associate professor of sociology and director of the Sarah W. Heath Center for Equality, explained the motivation and importance of having this type of education on campus for faculty and students.
“There’s been a lot of questions around trying to understand what the new policies around ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) are and how they impact a school setting,” Duarte said.
Duarte said the workshops are not intended as a one-time-event, and that Cal Lutheran may continue this form of training.
Duarte said that the university is working to consolidate these efforts into fewer, more comprehensive sessions rather than multiple smaller ones.
According to Duarte, Cal Lutheran has had to comply with California state laws pertaining to immigration enforcement since 2017. One of these procedures is Senate Bill 54, which is intended to limit local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“We have designated people on campus who will be called upon should ICE come to campus and need information about a student,” Duarte said. “None of us are trained or obligated or allowed to engage in information sharing with ICE— that should come from a designated person on campus.”
During the workshop, Frank said that “only U.S. citizens are protected from deportation.”
Ward focused on informing non-citizens about their constitutional rights, how and when to interact with law enforcement, touching on the right to remain silent, the right to speak with an attorney, and who is and is not subject to deportation and why.
“We wanted to tap into some of the resources that we have and refresh and update some of our training and education around the rights of individuals, whether they be students, faculty, or staff,” Ward said.
According to Ward, Cal Lutheran is dedicated to creating a supportive environment for students on campus.
“Anything that gets in the way of that process, where students feel like they don’t have a safe harbor at the university, is a catalyst for our action to make sure that we are creating that environment,” Ward said.
Ward said that having an understanding of constitutional rights is particularly important within an educational institution.
“It’s just good for people to kind of know how the Constitution works and what people’s rights are,” Ward said.
Ward said that while the Cal Lutheran campus is generally deemed a safe place, unforeseen events could occur, which makes it essential for students and faculty to be prepared.
“It only takes one event to change that level of safety and security. So we want to make sure that people are educated and are able to be responsive, not only for themselves but for their peers,” Ward said.
