A representative of the U.S. Census Bureau was misidentified as an ICE agent at Bellarmine Hall Jan. 30.
A representative of the U.S. Census Bureau was misidentified as an ICE agent at Bellarmine Hall Jan. 30.
A representative of the U.S. Census Bureau, who visited the front desk of Bellarmine Hall and attempted to interview students Jan. 30, was misidentified as an agent from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, according to the Department of Residence Life.
Loyola spokesperson Christian Anderson confirmed the details of an email sent by Des’Mon Taylor, director of Residence Life, which stated the census taker was misidentified. There are no reports of ICE-related activity on campus.
Rumors of ICE activity at Bellarmine Hall spread online Jan. 31, raising concerns of arrests on campus. Some resident advisors alerted students there had been ICE activity following the spread of unsubstantiated information on campus.
Neither ICE nor the Census Bureau were immediately available for comment.
The incident comes as Chicago has experienced an uptick in ICE enforcement and arrests in recent days following direction from the Trump administration, The Phoenix reported.
Residence Life distributed information to student front-desk workers via a Jan. 20 email obtained by The Phoenix, which outlined how attendants should respond to law enforcement who enter dorm buildings, including ICE.
The policy directs workers to deny law enforcement access to buildings, even if they have a warrant, and instead alert Campus Safety and the university’s Office of the General Council.
“Our university guidelines stipulate that faculty, staff, administrators, and students do not otherwise engage with law enforcement officials,” the email reads. “Any outside law enforcement must be accompanied by a Campus Safety officer if accessing the halls and should not be provided access to any of the residence halls if they are alone.”
Anderson confirmed the validity of the Jan. 20 email and said it was sent in response to questions from students and community members. He said these are longstanding university policies and procedures, and they apply to all campus buildings.
This story was updated Feb. 5 to include new information regarding residence hall policies.
Hunter Minné contributed reporting to this article.
Griffin Krueger is the Editor-in-Chief of The Phoenix. He began working for The Phoenix during his first week at Loyola and has been writing about the university, the surrounding community and the city of Chicago ever since. Krueger previously worked as Deputy News Editor and Sports Editor and is a fourth-year studying political science with a minor in history. Originally from Billings, MT, he enjoys reading and exploring the city on his bike.
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