Rumors that circulated last Wednesday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were present on campus were “unsubstantiated,” according to an all-campus email sent by Director of Campus Safety Services (CSS) Jeff Palmer later that day.

“We have found no evidence of off-campus engagement, either,” President Maud S. Mandel announced in a separate all-campus email on Monday, effectively refuting additional rumors of a student coming into contact with an ICE agent off campus.

Palmer said that several unmarked vehicles spotted around campus may have fueled speculation, but that they were not affiliated with ICE: One was from a painter contracted by the College and the other belonged to the Williamstown Police Department, he said.

The rumors spread quickly across campus through social media, messaging groups, and word of mouth, igniting an hours long wave of anxiety across campus. 

Reports of ICE activity in the Berkshires — including a raid last month that resulted in the arrests of 10 people and the rumored establishment of a mobile office in Adams — contributed to the concern on campus.

Palmer said that CSS initially received reports that  ICE might be present on campus around 10:30 a.m through a tip from the Office of International Student Services. “It was reported through an off-campus messaging group, [and] a member of this group had connections with someone at Williams,” he wrote.

“CSS began doing a sweep of campus to check if there were any government vehicles on campus, which there weren’t,” he explained. “Additionally, I began reaching out to local and state law enforcement partners, which reported there weren’t any federal agencies operating in the area to their knowledge.” The Berkshire Eagle reported that, during ICE raids in Great Barrington and Pittsfield, ICE notified local police departments of their presence.

“Federal agencies are not required to communicate their actions with local agencies, though they sometimes do as a courtesy,” Palmer wrote. “Local agencies may be notified after an action has taken place, and they also share reports that they’re receiving with our office. We have excellent relationships with local agencies, which allow us to stay on top of any rumors or activities.”

“Our recent incident demonstrated how quickly rumors and false alarms can spread in a charged environment,” Mandel wrote in her email. “If someone tells you about immigration actions affecting Williams students, faculty, or staff, please immediately share this claim with Campus Safety Services so that they can look into the matter… We were only able to debunk the recent rumor as promptly as we did thanks to a timely heads-up from a community member.”

Hamza Woodson ’25, a co-chair of the Coalition for Immigrant Student Advancement (CISA),  posted on forums such as the Free Food Alerts chat on GroupMe throughout the day. He credited students with communicating efficiently. “Students were the reason why the College alerted all campus members, and did so in a timely manner, and I believe students should not hesitate to alert the campus community again if another incident is rumored to have occurred,” he said.

Woodson said he felt that he acted according to guidance he received from CSS and College staff about what CISA should do in the event of ICE activity. “We were asked by CSS officers and multiple campus faculty and staff that, if an ICE raid were to happen, that we could appropriately alert the campus community in a general and non-specific manner and that students have the agency to do so,” he said.

Palmer confirmed that he had spoken with international student leaders as well as the Minority Coalition’s (MinCo) steering committee, but denied Woodson’s framing of his advice.

In her Monday email, Mandel listed campus resources available to students, faculty, and staff, and described the College’s recent advocacy against federal policies that have led to non-citizen students at other institutions being detained or having their visas revoked. Such advocacy includes joining an amicus brief supporting a recent lawsuit against the Trump administration’s efforts to detain students on college campuses.

Mandel’s email also noted that the College convened a working group last November to continually assess the impact of federal policies on non-citizen members of the College community. “This group has offered and will continue to offer workshops and information sessions for international students, staff, and faculty to understand their rights and options,” she wrote. 

“The group is also exploring summer housing options for international students who may be unable to safely return home or re-enter the U.S. and considering degree completion possibilities in the event that an enrolled student is prevented from returning to campus,” she added, writing that such events “should be unthinkable.”

Following the incident, student groups including CISA and MinCo are calling for additional resources from the College, including the introduction of a system that would send alerts to the student body as soon as the College became aware of ICE activity on campus.

Woodson also said the College has been unwilling to implement such an alert system, or similar method of communication. 

“Courts have determined that warnings about impending immigration investigations are a type of conduct that can lead to criminal liability,” Chief Communications Officer Meike Kaan wrote in an email to the Record, citing citing the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

“Sending out warnings about immigration investigations that are underway can be considered a criminal act under the Immigration and Nationality Act,” Palmer wrote. The Act criminalizes any action that “conceals, harbors, or shields from detection” any undocumented immigrant. 

“We will not facilitate enforcement actions in any way beyond the minimum legal requirement of non-interference,” Kaan wrote.

“The administration has sound fears about dissemination information publicly, as it could target those most vulnerable at the College. However, students and staff deserve relevant and easily accessible information,” Mariel Baez ’26, co-president of MinCo, said.

Woodson said he views Palmer’s email as proof that the College has the capacity for fast, campus-wide communication. “The College has shown that it has the ability to be prompt and proactive in providing students with active updates regarding federal agent activity on campus,” he wrote to the Record. “Hopefully this will be a wake up call that we cannot just rely on students to implement these measures if the College wants to provide this information in a specific manner.”

Kaan and Palmer emphasized that the College has not updated its policies but has increased the resources available to students. “Regarding changes to policies and procedures, I don’t think this calls for any change and regular discussions have been occurring since before the incident and will continue,” Palmer wrote.