PSU Shares ICE Protocol
By Brady Lyons
Published March 9, 2026
Recently, President Birx and the University System general counsel shared an ICE response plan with faculty, staff, and students. The response plan details a five-step protocol that people should take if Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, or other immigration enforcement officers are spotted on campus.
Originally shared in early February with staff and faculty only, the message was eventually also shared with students in Birx’s monthly report on March 2.
“We are not taking this lightly,” Bowditch told The Clock in an interview. “Students are community members, safety first. But immediately after safety is following the law.”
The protocol explains what legal rights students have on the Plymouth State campus. PSU is a public campus, which means ICE officers are allowed on campus grounds like any member of the general public, but their access is limited.
ICE is permitted on the main grounds, but not in dorms or other buildings with restricted access, “which generally require a key card, and/or have locked doors or monitored entryways,” according to the memo. To enter those spaces, immigration enforcement must have a warrant. “USNH General Counsel should review the officials’ documentation to ensure they are given the correct level or access.”
If ICE is spotted within dorms without a warrant, officials should be notified. “Call the Police,” Birx said. “They should be removed as they are not allowed in there.”
Immigration enforcement may also request student information from PSU. Though much of that information is protected without a subpoena by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, PSU may disclose certain “directory information” upon request. Directory information includes general information like a student’s name, major, and hometown. Students can request that their directory information not be shared by contacting the Office of the Registrar at the beginning of the semester.
“PSU should always prioritize the safety of students,” PSU Democrats President Oscar Lakowicz told The Clock in an email. “Birx’s statement is fine. It’s clearly a boiler-plate piece that has been through legal counsel.”
“Students deserve to feel safe in their classrooms,” added Vickie Ni, the Democrats’ Social Media Chair. “No student should have their education halted due to the presence of federal officers.
A flurry of ICE activity came to the Plymouth area in November, according to NHPR, including what appeared to be ICE aganets making an arrest at the Irving gas station in Holderness just off the PSU campus. A video of the area circulated widely on social media. The Plymouth Police Department confirmed to NHPR that ICE was in the area, and said the police department was not involved in the detention.
The American Civil Liberties Union and PSU Office of Student Advocacy and Wellbeing will host a public Know Your Rights training event on Wednesday, March 11 at 4:30pm in the Frost Commons for students to learn about their legal rights when interacting with local police and federal immigration enforcement agents.