The USF Faculty Senate called on USF leadership to withdraw University Police from an agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that will allow campus police to enforce immigration laws.

During a special Faculty Senate meeting on Friday, senators expressed concerns over how USF’s international community – faculty and students alike – would be affected by the agreement, which has not yet taken effect.

“I beg my colleagues to support people like me who, because of this, will need to bring to campus a passport and proof of evidence of my immigration status, because I can be stopped and questioned,” said USF history professor Adriana Novoa, who is from Argentina.

Related: USF police plan to participate in immigration enforcement program

In March, University Police Chief Christopher Daniel signed an agreement that will allow campus police officers to enroll in the 287(g) task force model. The program gives participating officers the power to detain, question or arrest people they suspect are in the country illegally.  

Campus police departments in other state universities, such as the University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University, also plan to participate.

Simmons, who is also a Board of Trustees member, said the resolution outlines five major points of concern with the 287(g) agreement, including how enforcing it might funnel resources away from focusing on campus safety. 

Besides calling on USF leadership, the Senate also endorsed a statement by the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates, which is composed of faculty senate representatives from Florida public universities and colleges. 

The resolution asks the Board of Governors to urge state universities to withdraw from the partnerships and was passed with a 57-3 vote. 

Gerard Solis, from the office of General Counsel, said UP has not yet been accepted to participate in the program. However, he said it’s not unusual for USF to enter “mutual aid agreements” with federal agencies, such as the FBI and FEMA, and now, ICE. 

He said the agreements are “beneficial” for creating “clear lines of communication” and setting standards on how the agencies will interact in emergency scenarios or during routine work. 

“Those [agreements] have a lot of value to the University of South Florida, particularly if a federal agency were to come on the campus,” said Solis, who attended the meeting to answer faculty’s questions regarding the agreement. 

Related: USF international students are among those losing visas

Faculty Senate president David Simmons said he did not invite UP to the meeting because he felt it would have led to “discord.” 

UP spokesperson Michael Lavelle said the department has no comment on the agreement “until if and when it is executed.”

When deciding whether to sign the agreement, Solis said the university factored in how the program would be received by the community.

“We believe that the benefits outweigh that,” he said. “But at no point do we diminish the fact that these are very challenging and ambiguous times and that this wasn’t necessarily going to help that at all.”

UP is participating in the program to comply with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ directive for all law enforcement agencies in the state to enroll, a USF spokesperson previously told The Oracle. Simmons, however, said participation in the program is voluntary during the meeting. 

Solis also said UP has chosen three officers out of a pool of 80 eligible officers to participate in the training. 

The resolution also states trust between the community and law enforcement will be eroded and that people might not report crimes, seek medical help or educational support at universities.

“Because of fear of being detained by ICE-deputized campus police, students might avoid seeking support services that are essential for their success,” Simmons said. 

Philosophy professor Richard Manning said participating in the program is not “standard practice.” 

“This is just the beginning. We need to stop it before it gets started as best we can,” he said. “Stay off our campus, please.”

Related: ICE can visit USF. Experts say students should know their rights.

Novoa, the history professor, said professors should’ve been consulted before USF signed the agreement. She said not informing people created “a lot of panic.”

The United Faculty of Florida also said the agreements between ICE and state universities were “conducted without meaningful transparency or community input.”

“These ICE partnerships are not merely administrative decisions—they are part of a broader pattern of authoritarian overreach and political repression targeting Florida’s public institutions,” UFF wrote in a statement. 

Professor Brad Rosenheim, who works in the USF College of Marine Science, said participating in the program will also affect research. He said if students feel “chilled to do research in this environment,” it will impact USF’s productivity.

“It affects the number of papers that we can put out, it affects the number of dollars we can spend, and it affects the amount of work that we can do – all of which have gotten us Association of American Universities recognition,” Rosenheim said. 

Edelyn Verona, a psychology professor and co-director of the Center for Justice Research & Policy, said faculty should continue to bring up the agreement at “every” meeting and “make it hard” for the administration to support it.

“We’re not going to stop here,” she said. “We’re going to bug them and we’re going to make their lives less happy because of what they’re doing.”