Students, staff and alumni at the University of Arizona are calling on the administration to declare a sanctuary campus protected from federal immigration enforcement activity.
UA Resist, the group leading the organized effort, first told AZPM it was working to gather support for the idea in May.
“The idea is that ICE and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) aren’t allowed to be there or to enforce and that — on a campus — the campus police can’t collaborate so that students and faculty and staff can’t be kidnapped,” said Mara Short, a graduate student with UA Resist.
UA Resist advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on campus.
The group is joined by DeFlock Tucson, United Campus Workers Arizona, a student-led Planned Parenthood organization and others in an effort to circulate a petition and pressure the university to comply with seven requests:
- Issue a written statement from the administration that bars ICE and CBP from campus, student housing and Banner Hospital
- Refuse to share university records and other identifiable information about UA students with the Department of Homeland Security
- Provide free legal representation for UA students and workers targeted by ICE
- Disseminate classroom toolkits on what to do during ICE raids and regular departmental training for such events
- Remove all security cameras, facial recognition technologies and automatic license plate readers on campus that track movements without a warrant
- Prohibit DHS from participating in any job fairs
- Abolish the National Center for Border Security and Immigration in the Eller College of Management
There have not been any reported incidents of ICE activity on the UA campus this year, nor at Arizona State or Northern Arizona universities.
While the modern idea of a sanctuary campus has been around since the first Trump presidency, neither of the other two state institutions have declared themselves a sanctuary campus or have updated policies to specify the potential for immigration enforcement at schools. And there is no current record of how many U.S. campuses provide sanctuary from DHS.
ICE arrests across Arizona peaked in July when there were 2,180, according to the Deportation Data Project. The project has not yet released monthly arrest numbers for August or September.
Aileen C. is a UA alum and former staff member of the Student Culture & Engagement Hub, formerly known as cultural resource centers. AZPM agreed not to use Aileen’s last name due to fear of retaliation at their current workplace — another institution of higher education.
“I still want to be a part of this, especially as an alumni and as someone who couldn't stand to be at the University of Arizona so long as they continue to be complicit and silent about these things,” they said.
In January, students in the UA’s student culture centers told AZPM they were frustrated with the administration’s lack of support during a time of heightened ICE activity. That month, UA College Democrats on campus also circulated a petition gathering support to urge UA officials to better protect campus from violent immigration tactics.
The UA never responded.
In 2025 the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era policy that barred immigration enforcement activity from places like churches and schools.
DHS called the directive “essential to ending the invasion of the US southern border and empower[ing] law enforcement to protect Americans.”
According to UA policy, employees are expected to comply with federal law enforcement. Despite repeated efforts by students and other activists, the administration has not commented publicly on how it would respond to ICE or CBP specifically.
Since President Trump took office, the UA has rolled back several DEI-related protections on campus such as centralizing cultural resource centers; forcing groups to omit words like “trans,” “Black” and “Asian” from their names; and closing cultural dorm communities.
“Those actions broke a lot of trust with students, because the U of A brought us to this school promising, you know, a Hispanic Serving Institution, having all of these resources for students,” Short said in January.
Aileen said they feel similarly and that the organizers are preparing for silence from the administration.
“The only way to get a response and to work more meaningfully towards these goals is to build people power on campus,” Aileen said.
They added that the fight for a safer, more supportive campus is “just getting started” and a “fight that we are committed to for a while.”
In a letter to the administration, UA Resist gave officials until Oct. 23 to respond to its demands.
Should officials not respond, Aileen said next steps will depend on what organizers are willing to commit themselves to.
The UA has not responded to AZPM’s request for comment.
