Interactions with Federal Immigration Agents

This guidance applies to any law enforcement agency, including the FBI, CIA, ICE, CBP, the Hartford Police, CT State Police, or any other local, state, or federal agency agents. The purpose of these rules is to ensure that in its interactions with law enforcement, College employees comply with applicable law, minimize the impact of law enforcement activity on the operations of the College, and, to the extent possible, protect the civil rights of individuals on campus:

1. If an employee is approached by a law enforcement agent on campus who is seeking information about the College, its employees, or its students, the employee should inform the agent that employees are required to refer the agent to Campus Safety. The employee then should immediately contact Campus Safety.
2. A Campus Safety Officer will locate the agent without delay and determine the purpose of the law enforcement activity. Whatever the purpose, the Campus Safety Officer will explain to the law enforcement agent that Trinity College is private property, and that only senior administrators of the College can accept service of process (i.e., a subpoena), determine the validity of court orders (e.g., warrants, etc.), or give consent to warrantless law enforcement activity. The Campus Safety Officer then should escort the agent to the President’s Office where the College’s general counsel will be consulted regarding the enforcement activity in question. Staff in the President’s Office will have instructions on what to do, in the event the general counsel is absent.
3. Unless directed by the College’s general counsel or another authorized member of the senior administration, no employee of the College, whether faculty or staff, may:
   1. release sensitive or non-public personally-identifiable information (e.g., home addresses, phone numbers, immigration status, etc.) to law enforcement agents; or
   2. allow law enforcement agents or private investigators to use College facilities for investigations, interviews, or interrogations of individuals on our campus.
4. As a private college, areas on campus that are not generally accessible to the public are considered private spaces and therefore protected from warrantless searches by law enforcement. In all instances, to the fullest extent possible, a Campus Safety Officer will remain with law enforcement agents throughout the duration of their activity on campus.