Undergraduate Student Government Tempe signed a resolution introduced on Feb. 3 urging ASU not to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless legally mandated and to protect the interests of students threatened by immigration enforcement.
Within the resolution, USGT asked the University to limit ICE's access to nonpublic spaces on campus and asked that safety enforcement, like ASUPD, does not assist ICE in any kinds of operations, such as turning over faculty or student information, without warrants.
It asked the University to provide "know your rights trainings" to students and staff members who request it and to not enter any agreements with ICE beyond what's required by law.
USGT Sen. Gem Wolf-Schwaiger, a senior studying political science and communication, introduced this resolution after the searches at Zipps Sports Grills. They received many concerns from their constituents about their safety and ICE on campus.
A University spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the resolution.
READ MORE: BREAKING: Zipps Sports Grills searched as part of federal investigation, authorities say
Wolf-Schwaiger said USGT's main goal has always been to make sure students' education quality is not affected, and they hope this resolution will help maintain a safe learning environment for students and faculty.
"ASU is such a patchwork of different communities and that means that a lot of them are going to have needs that you might not think about when you first think about advocating for students," Wolf-Schwaiger said.
They said it is an honor to be able to represent their constituents and allow said constituents to trust them to protect their safety on this campus.
"No student deserves to be scared to go to school, whether they're in kindergarten or whether they're a Ph.D. student," Wolf-Schwaiger said.
Rishik Chaudhary, a senior studying supply chain management and business, is the student body president for USG-T. He said he supports his senate and their efforts to represent students.
"The resolutions that (the senate brings) forth are absolutely topics that they are either passionate (about) or are important to students at this university," Chaudhary said.
Student safety is USGT's main concern, and it is here to support and advocate for students as it works closely with University administration, Chaudhary said.
"We support all students," Chaudhary said. "Whether that be them feeling safe emotionally, them feeling safe physically, this bill, realistically, just urges the University to help create and sustain a safe environment."
Chaudhary encourages students to reach out to the student government, since their job is to represent students' needs and wants.
Emily Sotelo, a senior studying economics and co-chair at Aliento at ASU, said she was very proud to see USGT standing up for students and their safety. She said she's been happy to see other student organizations protesting and advocating for their fellow Sun Devils.
Aliento and other organizations have released statements regarding the increased presence of ICE, she said.
"It's really important for these types of resolutions and these statements to be made, because not only does it provide some support and some guidance to students on where we stand as a population, but it also communicates with our administration what students want to see, and USG has the platform," Sotelo said.
Sotelo said she feels an obligation to speak for those who can't speak up for themselves and who may be targeted in the community. She said in addition to learning their rights, students should be spreading information on how to keep fellow community members protected.
"It's important that we all do our part and advocate in all the different facets and options that we have to make sure that we're all protecting our community and making sure that ASU is a safe and inclusive space for all people," Sotelo said.
Edited by Henry Smardo, Senna James, Katrina Michalak and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at apruiz@asu.edu and follow @andiruiz2405 on X.
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Andi Ruiz is a lead politics reporter at the State Press dedicated to serving her community with truth and honesty in her reporting. She has been working in broadcast and news since high school and was recently an anchor at The Cut Network during her first year at Cronkite. She is going into her second year at ASU as a Barrett Honors student studying journalism and mass communication.
