With the threat of national immigration raids from President Donald Trump’s administration, USC officials confirmed they will comply with existing university protocol if subpoenaed by the government.
Trump signed the “Protecting The American People Against Invasion” executive order on his first day in office, which directed the Department of Homeland Security to “take all appropriate action” to “ensure the efficient and expedited removal of aliens.” On Sunday the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported on X that officers made 956 arrests and had “554 detainers lodged” in a single day.
“The university has a longstanding protocol with respect to warrants or criminal subpoenas of any kind,” USC PR wrote in an email to Annenberg Media. According to the USC Office of the General Counsel’s (OGC) website, the university has a five-step system when presented with a government subpoena or warrant.
The first step, what OGC calls the “Initial Response,” directs USC officials to ask the agent presenting the warrant or subpoena for their contact information and permission to photograph their credentials. The following step is “Explain Legal Representation.” Here, the USC official should inform the agent that the university is represented by the OGC, who must review the documents. The agent should then be referred to OGC “without accepting documents, and/or releasing any documents, records, or other information,” according to the website.
In the “unlikely event” that the agent refuses to follow directions, the website states “do not attempt to physically block or interfere with the agent.” The protocol also directs the individual who interacted with the ICE agent to contact the Department of Public Safety (DPS) at 213-740-6000 so DPS can inform “the appropriate individuals.”
This follows the recommendation that USC issued in December instructing international students to return before Trump’s inauguration because his executive orders could affect their visa status.