FAQs: Guidance Regarding U.S. Immigration (ICE) Enforcement

Consistent with the Statement of Assurance, Carnegie Mellon does not discriminate based on national origin status. CMU’s Police Department does not inquire about citizenship or immigration status as a matter of routine policing to keep the campus and community safe.

The university does not voluntarily provide information about the immigration status or nationality of individual students to federal agencies or other outside organizations or individuals, except where required to do so by law, such as in response to a judicially issued subpoena or other legally binding requirement. Federal law does require certain information about students holding F-1 or J-1 visas to be reported routinely. Primarily, higher education institutions must report that these students are enrolled full-time, a requirement to remain in the country on an F-1 or J-1 visa. 

The Office of International Education (OIE) works with students and visiting scholars so that they can make sure their status is current. The university is required by the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program to report student visa status. There are numerous resources available through OIE to help maintain status.

We strongly encourage both foreign national students and employees to carry documentation of their legal U.S. immigration status with them at all times. For students, this involves both a valid Form I-20 and Form I-94 record. For employees, depending upon the basis of your employment authorization in the U.S., this involves either copies of your U.S. visa stamp and Form I-94 record and/or Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or green card.

If you are contacted by ICE, you may ask the agent for their name and the name of their federal agency. Remember that contact by ICE does not mean that you have done anything wrong or that you are under investigation.

• You have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration or citizenship status with police, immigration agents, or other officials. Anything you tell an officer can later be used against you in immigration court.
• You have the right to ask to speak to an attorney. If you are arrested by police, you have the right to a government-appointed lawyer. If you are detained by ICE, you have the right to consult with a lawyer, but the government is not required to provide one for you. You can ask for a list of free or low-cost alternatives.
• If you have a lawyer, you have the right to talk to your lawyer. If you have a signed Form G-28, which shows you have a lawyer, give it to the agent.
• If you are not a U.S. citizen and an ICE agent requests your immigration papers, you must show them to the agent to comply with U.S. immigration law. 
• If an immigration agent asks if they can search you, you have the right to say no. Agents do not have the right to search you or your belongings without your consent or probable cause.
• Below are some general tips/guidance on how to respond if you are visited and/or stopped by an ICE agent:
  • Politely ask the officer to identify themselves.
  • Request a copy of any documents needed to proceed (including a search warrant).
  • Notify the Office of International Education, the Office of General Counsel, or the Human Resources department.
  • Do not volunteer any information not specifically requested.
  • Do not obstruct the officer in their actions.

If ICE has detained someone you know, you may be able to gather information about their location or case via the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website.

Further details are available at the following external websites:

• American Civil Liberties Union – Resources about Immigrant Rights
• National Immigration Law Center – Know Your Rights: What to Do if You are Arrested or Detained by Immigration
• American Immigration Lawyers Association – Know your Rights Handouts: If ICE Visits a Home, Employer, or Public Space
• American Civil Liberties Union Pennsylvania - Know Your Rights When Traveling
• American Civil Liberties Union - Know Your Rights: Enforcement at the Airport

CMU faculty and staff who receive inquiries from ICE authorities about CMU students or other university community members should ask for the agent’s contact information and respond to them after they have the opportunity to seek guidance from the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and/or the Office of International Education (OIE), which is responsible for keeping H-1B workers’ U.S. immigration records. Please inform the agent that you are not obstructing their process but that you need to consult with OGC and/or OIE for assistance. If you are unable to reach OGC and/or OIE, contact the CMU Police Department at 412-268-2323.

CMU faculty and staff do not have the authority to consent to the search or taking of university property or records. Contact OGC immediately if an agent provides a warrant, subpoena and/or demands access to university property or records.

Federal officers are routinely on the university’s campus for purposes unrelated to immigration enforcement. For example, it is common for federal officers to contact faculty and staff in the course of performing routine background checks for students, alumni and former employees who are seeking employment with the federal government and/or who otherwise are seeking to obtain or maintain a federal security clearance. Such background checks are typically conducted with the consent of the individual. Faculty and staff should not confuse the presence of such officials on campus with ICE.

Carnegie Mellon has a standard process for approving federal investigators seeking to speak with faculty and staff about students and alumni. Faculty and staff should not share or release any student information to federal investigators until the investigator has been approved by The HUB. Please see The HUB’s website on Investigator Requests.

Large portions of the CMU campus, both outdoors and indoors, are open to the public. ICE agents may enter the public areas of the campus without permission. However, individuals in these public areas still have the rights summarized in the guidance above.

Public access is limited in certain areas of campus, such as facilities and spaces in which access is physically restricted by various means, including locked doors, ID cards, and monitored entrances. These non-public areas of campus include, but are not limited to, faculty offices and student residence hall rooms. ICE agents may only access the non-public areas of campus with the permission of the university or with a judicially issued search warrant, subpoena or court order.

If you are presented with such a warrant, or if you witness an ICE agent in a non-public part of campus, please contact CMU's Office of the General Counsel to ensure that the ICE agent has the appropriate documentation to enter non-public spaces on campus.

In April 2025, the U.S. government announced it would begin revoking student/scholar visas and terminating Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records. They have not been routinely notifying impacted individuals or their institutions when they have revoked visas or terminated SEVIS records. As a result, OIE has begun routinely reviewing SEVIS records to determine if any CMU records have been terminated. 

If OIE becomes aware that the U.S. government has terminated a SEVIS record for an individual affiliated with CMU, we will reach out to the individual directly to notify them and provide resource information and any current guidance available. We encourage individuals with terminated records to check the email account they used when they applied for their visa to see what information the State Department may have sent to that address. If the government terminates a record, it may put that individual at a higher risk for ICE enforcement actions (e.g., deportation or removal). As such, we recommend individuals with terminated records consult with an immigration attorney for guidance. Students and scholars are also encouraged to contact OIE if they have questions.

You can check the email you used to apply for the visa to see if you have received a message about your visa and/or you can check the State Department's system where you applied for your visa. If you are on OPT, you can check your SEVP Portal, to see if there are any messages in the portal. For enrolled students, OIE is regularly reviewing records in the SEVIS database and will reach out to any student who appears to be terminated by the government.