An email was sent yesterday by Point Loma Nazarene University’s President, Kerry Fulcher, alerting undergraduate students of a new California law that will impact how PLNU will communicate sightings of immigration enforcement agents.
The new law, Senate Bill No. 98, says that universities are to advise all students, faculty and staff to notify the office of the university president if they are informed that an immigration officer “is expected to enter, will enter or has entered the campus to execute a federal immigration order.”
Until January 1, 2031, this bill will require universities, like PLNU, to notify the school when it’s confirmed that immigration enforcers are on campus. Fulcher said, however, that immigration agencies are legally allowed to be present along Lomaland Drive or in the city parking lot as part of routine patrols in the region.
“Because of this new law, you may at some point receive a message alerting you if federal immigration enforcement officials are on campus,” Fulcher said in the email.
Fulcher specified that students are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which forbids the university from sharing students’ immigration status without consent. He said that residence halls, dining areas and other buildings on campus are private property and protected under the Fourth Amendment, meaning that this “limits unlawful search and seizure.”
In the event that federal immigration officers do enter PLNU’s property, it is the university’s protocol that faculty, staff and students do not need to review documents or interact with the officers. They should instead refer the agents to an administrative lobby on any of PLNU’s five campuses for university personnel: Point Loma: Mieras Hall; Balboa: east entrance lobby (main entrance); Bakersfield: back lobby area; Liberty Station: entrance; Mission Valley: main entrance lobby (with the double doors).
Fulcher emphasized that the students are PLNU’s top priority, and encouraged them to reach out to resident directors, campus pastors or the Student Care Office at StudentCare@pointloma.edu for support.
Kailyn Collette 
Ava Bailey-Klugh 
Sydney Brammer