Important Information about Interactions with Law Enforcement

04/01/25

Dear PSOM Community-

The following are excerpts from the Provost's message shared last week regarding interactions with law enforcement on campus.

Public Safety is the official liaison with all law enforcement for the University. If you are approached by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or other law enforcement agents on our campus, contact the Division of Public Safety immediately at 215-573-3333. You may document any interaction, or ask them to wait for Penn Police, but do not interfere with or obstruct the agents. Let them know that you cannot grant them permission to enter University buildings or accept service of a warrant on behalf of the University.

The Penn campus is largely open to the public. All law enforcement officers may enter these public spaces without a warrant or subpoena. Most campus buildings, however, are not open to the public, and access to these buildings is limited to those individuals with valid PennCards or law enforcement officers with judicial warrants or subpoenas. If agents have an administrative warrant (as opposed to a judicial warrant or subpoena), they cannot legally access private buildings without explicit permission or invitation.

If you have questions about how recent immigration policy initiatives might impact you, please reach out to the following offices:

Penn Resources

International Student and Scholar Services - 215-898-4661

Public Safety - 215-573-3333; 511 (campus phone)

Student Health and Counseling - 215-746-WELL (9355)

Student Intervention Services - 215-746-1203

Non-Penn Legal Resources

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania

American Immigration Lawyers Association

Nationalities Service Center

E. Michael Ostap, PhD

Professor of Physiology

Interim Senior Vice Dean and Chief Scientific Officer,

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania