Policy Text
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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4.1 Liaison
4.1.4 Undocumented Members of the UC Community (Issued : 7/2/17 )
A. Student Support and Success
The University of California welcomes and supports students without regard to their
immigration status. The University will continue to admit stude nts in a manner consistent
with its nondiscrimination policy and without regard to a student’s race, color, national
origin, religion, citizenship or other protected characteristic. In other words,
undocumented applicants with or without DACA status will b e considered for admission
on the same basis as any U.S. citizen or other applicant.
The University is committed to creating an environment in which all admitted students
can successfully matriculate and graduate.
Federal law protects student privacy rig hts, and the California Constitution and statutes
provide broad privacy protection to all members of the UC community. University policy
provides additional privacy protections. When the University receives requests for
information that implicate individua l privacy rights, the University will continue its
practice of working closely with the Office of General Counsel to protect the privacy of
members of the UC community. We will not release immigration status or related
information in confidential student r ecords, without permission from a student, to federal
agencies or other parties without a judicial warrant, a subpoena, a court order or as
otherwise required by law.
B. UC Campuses and Other Locations
Primary jurisdiction over enforcement of federal immi gration laws rests with the
federal government and not with the UCSF PD or any other state or local law
enforcement agency. The UCSF PD is devoted to providing professional policing
services that strive to ensure a safe and secure environment in which memb ers of the
University’s diverse community can pursue the University’s research, education and
public service missions. Community trust and cooperation are essential to effective
law enforcement on campus or other UC locations. The limited resources of UC police
departments should not be diverted from this mission to enforcement of federal
immigration laws. Accordingly:
1. The UCSF PD will not join those state and local law enforcement agencies that
have entered into an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE), or undertake other joint efforts with federal, state or local law
enforcement agencies, to investigate, detain or arrest individuals for violation
of federal immigration law.
2. It is in the best interest of all members of the UC commu nity to encourage
cooperation with the investigation of criminal activity. To encourage such
cooperation, all individuals, regardless of their immigration status, must feel
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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secure that contacting or being addressed by UC police officers will not
automatica lly lead to an immigration inquiry and/or a risk of removal.
Consequently:
a. UCSF PD police officers will not contact, detain, question or arrest an
individual solely on the basis of suspected undocumented
immigration status or to discover the immigratio n status of an
individual, except as required by law.
b. UCSF PD police officers should avoid actions that create a disincentive
to report crime, or to offer testimony as a witness to a crime, such as
requesting information about immigration status from crime victims
and witnesses.
3. The California Attorney General has concluded that civil immigration detainers
are voluntary requests to local law enforcement and compliance is not
mandatory. Local law enforcement agencies may be liable for improperly
detain ing an individual who is otherwise eligible for release based on a civil
immigration detainer. Consequently:
a. UCSF PD police officers will not detain an individual in response to an
immigration hold request from ICE, or any other law enforcement
agency enforcing federal immigration law, unless doing so is required
by law or unless an individual has been convicted of a serious or violent
felony.
b. In order to confirm compliance with legal requirements and these
principles, campus police chiefs should review any other request for
information from ICE or any other law enforcement agency enforcing
federal immigration law, before response .
4. If UCSF PD receives a request to assist a victim of or witness to a crime with a
U visa or T visa application, the request should be immediately forwarded to
the Chief of Police, who should take prompt action to facilitate the request if
appropriate.
a. The Investigations Unit Supervisor or designee should ensure that
certification requests are reported to the Legislature in January of each
year and include the number of certifications signed and the number
denied. The report shall comply with Government Code § 9795 (Penal
Code § 679.10; Penal Code § 679.11).
5.