Campus Currents

By Cas Barrett, Publications Intern

Susan Church, the current chief operating officer for the Commonwealth’s Office for Refugees and Immigrants and a former immigration lawyer with 25 years of experience, gave a 'Know Your Rights' presentation on February 19th.

The presentation covered a wide range of information on the impacts of recent changes of federal law and what to expect during the Donald Trump presidency.  If agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement knock on your door, try to take a deep breath and stay calm, Church says.  If you chose to invoke your rights to remain silent or not open the door you can state out loud to officers “I request my right to silence and to an attorney” or you can slide a 'Know Your Rights' card under door. 

“Put them in your purse, wallet, glove compartment, book bag, by the door,” Church said. “Don’t leave it home, have it anywhere you’ll be, on your person and at home and in your car.”

If you choose to speak, ask them for a warrant and have them slide it under the door. Carefully inspect the warrant, look for a judge's signature, the type of warrant, and if it is issued by a court, look for the name of court it was ordered from.

“The warrant ICE often presents are an administrative warrant and not issued by a court or judge and therefore not valid to enter private places,” Church said. “Legally you do not need to open the door unless they have a warrant signed by a judge.”

A valid judicial warrant would say “Search and Seizure.” State cards do not use the word “alien.” 

“Do not call over undocumented friends or family for help,” Church said. “If you do open the door for ICE, even if you are fine, if you have roommates that are undocumented ICE can arrest everyone present.”

So far there have been no ICE raids in Massachusetts according to Church. 

“There are targeted arrests instead, specific people being arrested," she says. "Less than half are people with no criminal charges or long-term removal orders.”

If you miss an immigration hearing enforcement can be immediately triggered and you may get a removal order. 

“Prepare for bond now if you’re eligible through family or community ties and not a flight risk,” Church said.  “A college is a community. Are you part of a club? Do you volunteer? You can get bail if you can prove you are providing for a family member with serious illness.” 

Private areas of campus are deemed by university policy, according to Church said. 

“However most schools have a policy that if ICE does come on campus, they are directed to campus safety first, then safety calls legal or a point person and decide whether the warrant will be served based on warrant type," Church said. "If you see someone being arrested, be a witness not a hero. Take note of everything that happens, the officer's name, badge number, license plate, did the person invoke their rights?” 

“Be extremely careful with the way in which you engage with law enforcement,” Church added. “Your help may be misconstrued by the officer, and they may not take their anger out on you they make take it out on the person they’re arresting.” 
 

By Cas Barrett, Publications Intern

As students prepare to meet with local employers at next week’s Spring Job Fair, they should be researching the companies they are interested in, getting a nice wardrobe together, and making plans to speak to at least one employer, according to Katherine Sieminski, Coordinator of Employer Outreach in the Career Development Office. 

“Come with a resume, research the companies beforehand, set a goal to talk to even just one visiting company, and come dressed to impress,” Sieminski said during Resume and Job Fair prep week in the McCarthy Center Lobby. “We want to help students prepare for the upcoming job fair on Thursday by helping to provide drop in resume assistance and answer questions about what the fair is to feel a little bit more prepared."

If you missed the table in McCarthy Lobby this week and would like help with your resume, Career Development is still available to answer questions before the job fair on Thursday. 

“We offer drop ins, you can come on Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoon for drop ins to meet with career counselors if you have a quick question. We can help you with more than your resume though that's a good start, we can help you apply for jobs, we can help you search for jobs, no question is too small,” Sieminski said. “I really like helping students with their careers I think it's a really important thing and I think the jobs can really improve someone's life. I always say to go to a job fair even if you're not looking so you get experience talking to employers.”