ICE Update: New campus contact, community group navigates ICE rumors

Amid false rumors of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) appearing at Cal Poly Humboldt, community leaders emphasize the importance of verifying information and relying on local support networks.

Campus contact for reporting ICE

Michelle Caisse, Interim Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, is the new contact for reporting ICE activity on campus. If a student comes into contact with ICE or sees an officer on campus, students are advised to immediately report it by calling 707-826-4501 or emailing Michelle.caisse@humboldt.edu.

For more information and resources visit https://www.humboldt.edu/immigration

Community groups address rumors

Leading up to the CPH part-time job fair, held Aug. 27, rumors circulated that ICE recruiters would be present. University officials clarified that the rumors were false.

Iridian G. Casarez, Communications Specialist for CPH, stated in an email, “ICE was not recruiting at the Part-Time Job Fair, and ICE did not make a request to participate in the Part-Time Job Fair.”

Local organizations like Centro del Pueblo, which advocates for Indigenous peoples of the South, immigrants and Latino communities, offer resources for residents to verify ICE rumors.

The rumor reached Peyton Leone, a volunteer with Centro del Pueblo’s Rapid Response Hotline, the night of Aug. 25. Leone described the effects unverified rumors can have on vulnerable communities.

“It’s not wrong to ask people around you or to get to the bottom of something,” Leone said. “But just posting things, even though you think it might be keeping people safe, like ‘Don’t go to this place because I heard a rumor that ICE is there,’ that’s causing more panic and not so much helping anyone.”

Brenda Perez, Executive Director of Centro del Pueblo and coordinator of CPH’s El Centro Academico Cultural de Humboldt, agreed that rumors carry a heavy impact. She explained how rumors often destabilize people’s lives, leading students to miss school and families to avoid community events out of fear of ICE.

“We heard people saying that they would only leave their house to go to the grocery store,” Leone said. “And even when they’re there, they do it quickly, because there’s a real fear that ICE is in the community.”

Leone and Perez emphasized the role of the Rapid Response Hotline, which allows residents to call in suspected ICE activity so volunteers can quickly investigate. The hotline has become a crucial tool for validating rumors, which Perez noted travel fast in rural communities.

The Rapid Response Hotline (707-200-8091) has grown tremendously in recent months. Perez said that before June there were fewer than 10 volunteers, but now there are 60. Each new volunteer was vetted to ensure commitment to the cause.

Leone suggested that a potential source of the CPH rumor could be a similar incident that occurred at Cal Poly Pomona (CPP).

The upcoming CPP career fair was canceled following public backlash over a rumor about ICE’s attendance. CPP clarified that ICE was not registered to attend in a press release.

From Measure K to community aid

In recent years, Humboldt County has taken steps to strengthen protections for immigrants. In 2018, Humboldt County voters approved Measure K, which prohibited law enforcement from working with ICE agents.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office also incorporated Policy 416 into its manual in accordance with the California Values Act (SB 54), which prevents state or local resources from being used for immigration purposes.

Perez recalled ICE’s previous relationship with local law enforcement, specifically the Sheriff’s Office, before these policies were implemented.

“We were used to seeing ICE working with sheriff’s deputies for translation purposes, and raiding houses in the middle of the night or workplaces without search warrants,” Perez said.

For those struggling to find community, Perez encouraged students to visit the Sanctuary Garden, located at the corner of 11th and F streets in Arcata, where every Saturday people gather to tend the gardens or relax.

Perez’s top priority is to dismantle the barriers preventing the immigrant and Latino community from accessing their rights, specifically due process. Despite the current political climate, local advocates like Leone and Perez still believe in the immigrant and Latine community’s resilience.

“Even if we don’t make up the largest demographic out here, we have a lot of good connections and good folks up here in Humboldt,” Leone said.

Perez advises students experiencing fear due to the current immigration climate to get involved in the community.

“Our communities are ready to be supportive of them,” Perez said. “Don’t isolate, don’t close the door on the opportunity to meet your community.”

*The source Peyton Leone was a former editor in chief of El Leñador and is no longer involved with the paper

CORRECTION: The story was updated to correct El Centro Academico Cultural de Humboldt’s full name