UW-Eau Claire students presented Chancellor Michael Carney with a petition on Friday, Feb. 13 demanding the university be recognized as a sanctuary campus. 

The petition, which has accrued 1,033 online signatures as of mid-February, asks that students, faculty and staff be allowed protections in the event that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers or affiliated persons enter the UW-Eau Claire campus.

Specifically, the petition requests that university law enforcement, faculty, staff and officials “not ally or cooperate with ICE in any way,” and that immigration officials or associates who seek to question or detain individuals not be allowed on campus. 

The petition also asks that the administration provide prompt, clear communication with those on campus about any current or suspended ICE activity on campus, and that the university provide legal services to any faculty, staff and students who may be targeted by ICE.

The petition was posted last semester by Victor Herbert, a fourth-year computer science student and co-chair of the campus’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) chapter. 

Herbert and a group of fellow students met Carney in front of Schofield Hall to present him with the petition. Carney was accompanied by Dean of Students Gregory Heinselman and campus police.

The Spectator reached out to Carney on Friday, and his office confirmed that the petition had been received but declined to comment at this time. 

Herbert said the campaign for a sanctuary campus — a term modelled after “sanctuary city” — has become relatively common among campuses across the country. 

UW-Madison students are currently recirculating a petition of their own containing requests similar to those presented to Carney. 

“Basically, it’s the university doing what they can to make sure that ICE stays off campus,” Herbert said. “Providing resources and transparency, making sure that they won’t collaborate or share information with ICE, that sort of thing.”

UW-Eau Claire students have been speaking out about the nationwide increase in ICE activity in 2025 and 2026. Some students, including the College Republicans, have spoken in support of the activity, while others have criticized the approaches the federal agency and the Trump administration are taking.

The topic hit closer to home over the past month and a half, with mounting tensions in nearby Minneapolis and other parts of Minnesota following a growing ICE presence and the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. 

ICE agents were reported to have been in Eau Claire in early January, but so far no reports have been made related to agents entering the UW-Eau Claire campus. The administration has not communicated directly with students about any policies related to interacting with federal agents.

On Jan. 23, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Tracy Drier sent an email to faculty and staff, later obtained by The Spectator, with the subject line, “Spring semester guidance and resources.” 

In the event that law enforcement enters the main campus, the email said, faculty and staff are to contact campus police at their non-emergency line. Those on the UW-Eau Claire — Barron County campus are to contact the Barron County Sheriff’s Department non-emergency line.

The email went on to include a link to UW-System’s page on “information regarding agents visiting universities,” as well as links to Counseling Services, Law for Learners and the Employee Assistance Program. 

The UW-System page states that after contacting campus police, students, faculty or staff are not to give agents access to any paper files or computers and should not give their consent to enter a “non-public area.” 

In a later email to The Spectator, Drier said private offices, laboratories, classrooms and lecture halls that are currently in use and private residential rooms are all examples of “non-public areas.”

“As a public university, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will comply with all applicable laws and is committed to cooperating with law enforcement within the constraints of the law and our own delegated responsibilities,” Drier wrote to The Spectator.

Herbert said he believes student pressure is essential to establishing UW-Eau Claire as a sanctuary campus.

“It’s inevitable that there are going to be incidents with ICE on campus — they’re going to continue encroaching,” Herbert said. “I don’t think this is a situation where you should be doing anything but the absolute maximum that you can do.”

Wojahn can be reached at [email protected].