UCLA is asking community members to inform UCPD if immigration officers enter or are expected to enter campus to execute federal immigration orders.
The university issued the notice in a Thursday BruinPost, noting in the message that it has “no indication or reports” suggesting immigration enforcement operations will occur on campus. The BruinPost also advised community members “responding to or having contact with an immigration officer executing a federal immigration order” to immediately contact UCPD, as well as campus counsel.
Steve Lurie, the associate vice chancellor for campus and community safety, said in an interview Thursday that the university will notify students and staff if it can confirm immigration enforcement officers are on campus and performing immigration enforcement activities. He added that the notification would be a campuswide email and not a BruinALERT, noting that the university saves such alerts “for emergencies or danger to campus.”
BruinALERTs notify students via text if they have a cell phone number in MyUCLA and are enrolled to receive emergency notifications, according to the Office of Emergency Management website. UCLA used BruinALERTS to announce curtailed campus operations during the January 2025 Los Angeles County fires.
Lurie also said the notifications would not be preemptive or “a real-time notification that immigration authorities are in a certain place on campus,” adding that such alerts could be considered obstruction of justice.
The message comes after the September enactment of Senate Bill 98 – which requires that UC, California State University and California Community College campuses, until 2031, notify students and staff if immigration enforcement officers conduct enforcement actions on a school’s campus.
[Related: UCLA faculty discuss new California laws restricting immigration enforcement]
University administrators previously told members of the Undergraduate Students Association Council that the university would not send a BruinALERT if United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers entered campus, according to notes from an April meeting.
[Related: Students who had visas revoked were previously arrested, USAC meeting reveals]
The university also said in the BruinPost that UCLA Student Affairs, as well as other campus agencies, “are available as contacts” if a community member believes they are subject to immigration enforcement on the UCLA campus.
“Unless permitted by federal and state education privacy laws, these designees are prohibited from discussing your personal information, including immigration status, with or revealing that personal information to anyone,” it said.
Lurie will also hold informational sessions to discuss how the university will comply with SB 98, according to the BruinPost.
“This is a very important topic to our community,” he said. “We want to be completely transparent about (what) we’re doing.”
