CTCEU and You Nafsa Region VIII Conference Alexandria, VA David A.M. Ware, attorney at law

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1 CTCEU and You Nafsa Region VIII Conference Alexandria, VA 2012 David A.M. Ware, attorney at law

2 Agencies Involved Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for immigration investigations, detention, removal, intelligence, and SEVIS. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and the Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit (CTCEU) are part of ICE.

3 Authority of ICE - INA 287(a) Interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien as to his right to remain in the US Arrest any alien attempting to enter the US in violation of law Arrest any alien in the US in violation of law, or who is removable Board and search vessels near the border Make arrests for felonies relating to admission/removal of aliens Make arrests For any offense against the US committed in the officer s presence For any felony under the laws of the US, if the officer has reasonable grounds

4 Campus Sentinel-General Concerns Balancing cooperating with ICE with Privacy concerns Institutional policies --Institutional liabilities Protecting the interests of staff and students Protecting civil liberties

5 FERPA Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 "personally identifiable information" from student "educational records" cannot be released to any third party without the consent of the student, with certain exceptions.

6 Relevant FERPA Exceptions Disclosure to DHS and the Department of State of information under the "SEVIS data" exception, 8 CFR 214.3(g); Disclosure of information the school has designated as "directory" information Disclosure of information to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena Disclosure of information to appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies Disclosure of information to the Attorney General or his designee in response to an ex parte subpoena issued by a court, the so called Patriot Act exception.

7 FERPA Exceptions IIRIRA 641(c)(2), the statute that underlies the SEVIS system, provides that FERPA.-The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 shall not apply to aliens described in subsection (a) to the extent that the Attorney General determines necessary to carry out the program under subsection (a).

8 FERPA Exceptions The program is now SEVIS, and the regulations were published to implement this exception (8 CFR 214.1(h)), apply this FERPA exception only to information that is required to be reported in SEVIS, so the exception does not apply to information that is not required to be reported in SEVIS, that is, the data elements found at 8 CFR 214.3(g).

9 FERPA Exceptions The FERPA waiver on Forms I 20/DS 2019 only applies to these data elements of 214.3(g); it is not a general waiver of FERPA. Note: the SEVIS data FERPA exception ONLY applies to F s, J s and M s, and ONLY permits disclosure of 214.3(g) information to DHS officials, not to law enforcement generally. Does not apply to other nonimmigrants, undocumented, permanent residents, etc.

10 Don t Get Bewitched! Abner Kravitz: Gladys, you were born a hundred years too late. Gladys Kravitz: Why do you say that? Abner Kravitz: You d have made a great town crier.

11 Be Respectful of Civil Liberties Nonimmigrants generally have the same rights to freedom of association, speech, and religion as US citizens, with few exceptions. Be respectful of others. Don t be a Mrs. Kravitz!

12 Institutional Policies and Liabilities Do you have an institutional policy regarding government visitors? Are you authorized to speak for the institution in this context? Do you have the authority to do so? Should this matter be referred to Public Information or General Counsel s Office? Are you taking an action, even unknowingly, that could be contrary to the interests of the institution, or a staff member, or a student, thereby exposing the institution to liability? Are you taking an action, even unknowingly, that exposes you to liability civil or criminal?

13 About the Speaker David Ware has 29 years of experience in representing universities and their students, faculty, and staff, as well as companies and individuals. His firm is one of only a handful in the nation with a consistent focus on academia, while also handling business, family, removal, asylum, and nationality cases. He has for many years been selected to the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, and has been selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America since For ten years, Mr. Ware has been selected as among the top immigration attorneys in Louisiana by New Orleans Magazine, and in 2005 and 2008, City Business Magazine selected him as one of the top 50 Leaders in Law in Louisiana, the only immigration attorney so chosen. In 2008, he was elected to Who s Who International s Top Corporate Immigration Attorneys one of only 300 in the US and the only in Louisiana. Mr. Ware is a recognized leader among immigration attorneys in practice areas of interest to universities, and he currently serves as a mentor in these areas for other immigration attorneys through AILA. He has been active in NAFSA since In addition to holding several AILA and NAFSA leadership positions, he has received numerous awards for outstanding service to NAFSA. His firm is one of only three NAFSA Global Law Firm Advocates. He regularly serves as an expert speaker at both AILA and NAFSA national and regional conferences, and at the meetings of other academically-oriented organizations such as NACE and CUPA.

14 Preguntas? Domande? Câu hòi? Fragen? Preguntes? Savāla? Pytannya? Sorular? Yŏu wèntí ma? Maswali? Dotazy? Ερωτήσεις; QUESTIONS? Vragen? Perguntas? Shitsumon wa arimasu ka? Kum tum? Voprosy? Tanong? Kesyon? Jilmun? Kit Khvebi?