What ICE agents can and can’t do: Explained in a teach-in

Delaney Kerstetter
Fri, 06 Feb 2026 01:23:12 +0000
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An online teach-in on Wednesday explained what ICE agents can do on campus and what rights immigrants have. Credit: Courtesy of Caleb Blake?

Current unease surrounding immigration enforcement in the United States has reached Columbus, where the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been reported in neighborhoods not far from Ohio State’s campus.

The tension has been heightened by the recent arrest of three people, two of them Ohio State students, during a protest against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection recruiters at the College of Arts and Sciences Career Fair on Jan. 20 and ICE’s Operation Buckeye, in which over 280 people were arrested.

Faculty, students and community organizers convened in a 200-person teach-in on Wednesday, aimed at addressing both the legal realities of immigration enforcement and the particular needs of immigrant families in Columbus.

César Cuauhtémoc Garc í a Hernández, the George H. Williams chair in civil rights and civil liberties at the Moritz College of Law, opened the seminar by explaining how the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is relevant to immigration enforcement.

“The Fourth Amendment is a powerful constraint on the authority of the government, state or federalism has to question people, enter private spaces, seize personal belongings and seize people, that is to detain or arrest them,” Garcia Hernandez said.

The amendment applies to all people, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. It prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires a warrant based on probable cause.

“If the goal were to allow government officials to more readily arrest people and question more people than they are currently capable of, then we would want to eliminate the Fourth Amendment,” Garcia Hernández said. “But the fact that it was added to the U.S. Constitution in the early days after the secession from the English crown is a reminder that one of the concerns that animated that secessionist movement was to constrain the power of the central government.”

He tied this to the 1975 Supreme Court case, United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, which ruled that although racial profiling is typically not allowed, that is not the case in certain immigration-policing contexts.

“A couple of Border Patrol agents in their patrol vehicle saw a car pass them on the highway and decided to stop it. And the agent said, ‘Look, the reason we stopped them was because they looked Mexican,’” Garcia Hernández said.

The court ruled that Mexican appearance can be a relevant factor in stopping individuals because of the likelihood that they are an immigrant; but it cannot be the only reason, he said.

“The federal government says the Constitution requires a warrant, yet there’s this enormous discrepancy between the Fourth Amendment’s language and a law enacted by Congress that allows immigration officers to arrest people without warrant if they have reason to suspect that the person is in the United States in violation of immigration law,” Garcia Hernández said.

The debate then centers on what kind of warrant is required, if any at all. Is an administrative warrant enough, or must it be a warrant signed by a judge?

Emily Brown, a clinical professor in the College of Law and director of the Moritz Immigration Clinic, explained the difference between a judicial warrant and an administrative warrant, emphasizing that ICE rarely carries judicial warrants.

A judicial warrant is a court order signed by a judge, authorizing law enforcement to search or arrest, allowing entry into homes. An administrative warrant is issued by an agency official, not a judge.

“Judicial warrants must be complied with. But an administrative warrant does not entitle ICE to enter a nonpublic area, which includes areas on campus as well as places like your home,” she said.

Immigration Control officers cannot enter buildings on campus requiring key-card access, such as dorms, labs and dining halls. This can also include lecture halls and classrooms because they are campus spaces closed to the public.

If ICE is encountered in a public area, people have the right to refuse to answer questions, sign anything or show any documents, Brown said.

Brown advised people to avoid telling ICE anything until a lawyer is present.

“You should not attempt to run away. You should not attempt to fight back in any way,” she said.

For those who want to protect their community, Brown encouraged collective support, especially in the form of protests.

“If we’re going to protect our immigrant neighbors and our noncitizen neighbors, knowing your rights to protest is especially important, particularly if you’re a U.S. citizen. You have a little more safety in that regard,” she said.

Brown said that citizens do not need to show proof of citizenship, but they may do so if it makes them feel more comfortable.

“I understand that many U.S. citizens, especially people of color, are now carrying their passports because ICE is, as we know, harassing and hurting people, even if they are U.S. citizens,” she said.

Brown said ICE activity is expected to continue in Columbus.

“It’s not a matter of if ICE is going to come back to Columbus in large numbers. It’s a matter of when they do,” Brown said.

She also suggested serving as an observer at protests and in situations where ICE is interacting with people.

“If you’re specifically interested in being a legal observer at protests and similar events, there’s a chapter of the National Lawyers Guild in Columbus that periodically offers training. Reach out to them to see if you can be trained as a legal observer,” Brown said.

Carlos Rivas, a professor in the history of art and ethnic studies, said mutual aid is key to supporting immigrant communities, highlighting the need for groceries, personal hygiene products and other necessities.

“That’s something we’re in the very early stages of brainstorming, how to fundraise for it,” he said.

Connecting families in need of assistance with these resources has been difficult, but working with local churches has helped centralize communication and distribute aid items, Rivas said.

One seminar attendee asked what mutual-aid organizations in the Columbus area could assist in supporting neighbors.

“I would definitely start by looking at your local neighborhood Facebook groups and associations,” Rivas said. “That’s how we found community and neighbors on the West Side. But if you’re interested in West Side groups, just contact me or Fabi[an Romero].”

Fabian Romero, a comparative studies professor, agreed but noted that these mutual-aid groups operate mostly on a cash-only basis because they do not want a paper trail that could lead back to potential targets.