In just the first few weeks of the 47th presidential administration, we have witnessed severely cruel and xenophobic state-sponsored attacks on immigrants here in the US. We have also witnessed unionized teachers in Chicago, who created sanctuary policies in their collective bargaining agreement, protect their K12 students from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or other agents of the Department of Homeland Security from harming their students.

Know your Rights graphic with text

As CSU campus administrations seemingly scramble to respond to these attacks, CFA has learned that some campuses have created liaisons or campus designees for faculty to contact should they see ICE agents on campus. On some campuses, the designees are campus police, whereas other campuses have designated deans of student life and other administrators to be the contact people in the event of an ICE arrival on campus.

However, this tip serves as a reminder that we have rights explicitly enumerated in our 2022-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) relating to our interactions with campus police.

This CBA language exists in Article 37, Health and Safety and essentially stipulates that as a unionized faculty member, you have the right to refuse to talk to campus police. Article 37.10 secures this right for us, and reads as follows:

37.10   All people have constitutional rights when it comes to interactions with police officers. CSU employees have those same rights when it comes to interactions with University Police. When University Police seek to interview a CFA represented employee, the employee has no obligation to participate. If, however, the employee chooses to participate, the employee may request to be accompanied by a union representative.  If the request for a union representative is denied, the employee has no obligation to participate. Nothing in this provision shall limit the rights of employees to be represented by an attorney when interacting with University Police.

If you are on a campus where the university police are the designees in the event of ICE arriving on campus, and you feel uncomfortable with that arrangement, we encourage you to contact your CFA chapter leaders now to invoke your Article 37.10 rights and advocate for a change on your campus, with designees assigned who are not campus police.

Another way to prepare is to get familiar with the resources available to us in defending our colleagues and students. Check out the resources page resources page assembled by the CFA Immigration Task Force, and attend a “Know Your Rights” training happening on your campus or community.

Protect yourself and each other, and help spread the word about our Article 37 rights and union resources in pursuit of justice for all immigrants.

If you need additional assistance, contact your CFA chapter representatives on your campus.

Want to learn more? Become active with your local CFA chapter Faculty Rights team. Find your representative here.

  • Browse the faculty contract here.
  • See an archive of Faculty Rights Tips.
  • If you have questions about a faculty rights tip or would like to suggest a tip, please write us with the subject line “Faculty Rights Tip.”
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