Utah’s top higher education leader says it is “impermissible” for any public college or university in the state to designate itself a “sanctuary campus” — a label that indicates a school’s promise to protect immigrant students from deportation.

That guidance from Geoff Landward, commissioner over the Utah System of Higher Education (or USHE), came in a letter released this week.

“The designation of an institution as a sanctuary campus is inherently political,” he wrote, “and an institution that takes this action would be viewed as endorsing a particular position in an ongoing political and policy debate.”

It’s not against Utah or federal law, Landward noted. But it is a violation of state policy approved by the governing Utah Board of Higher Education in December 2023. If broken, schools could face repercussions from the state Legislature, including withheld funding.

Under the “Institutional Neutrality and Speech Guidance,” the state’s eight public universities and colleges — and their leaders — are barred from taking a stance on “political, social or unsettled issues that do not directly relate to the institution’s mission, role or pedagogical objectives.”

Landward issued the letter in response to a request from the University of Utah’s president and members of the school’s board of trustees, who sought advice on the issue after students for nearly two years there have rallied for the school to become a sanctuary space for immigrants.

It also comes just weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice, under President Donald Trump’s direction, filed a lawsuit against Utah, among other states, for allowing some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at state-owned colleges and universities.

The Utah System of Higher Education and state leaders have not commented on how or if they are going to fight that.

Meanwhile, at the U., students have gathered more than 2,000 petition signatures, packed boardrooms and called on leaders to make the sanctuary designation. Those efforts have been spearheaded by Mecha, a student group largely led by and for students of color.

The petition states: “We demand that the University of Utah administration declares our university as a sanctuary that embraces undocumented immigrants and is safe for all students, staff, and faculty by not cooperating with immigration enforcement.”

It was initially launched in February 2025 after President Donald Trump’s administration revoked the visas of hundreds of international students nationwide, including at least 20 at the U., and instructed them to “self-deport.”

Most of those visas were later reinstated after legal challenges and the federal administration reversed course; by then, one Utah student had left the country out of fear, according to an attorney representing a group of students here.

Trump has since tried placing strict time restrictions on international students attending schools in the U.S., which is also being challenged in court.

Additionally, in June 2025, a 19-year-old U. student was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, while traveling in Colorado. Caroline Dias Goncalves was later released on bond after 15 days in an immigration detention center; she is still fighting to be granted asylum.

‘We, as trustees, all care deeply’

Students with Mecha have continued their push since, with support from the United Campus Workers of Utah union representing university employees.

This February, they packed a board of trustees meeting to hand-deliver a copy of their petition to U. President Taylor Randall. In a video they posted online, Randall responds: “We’ll take a look at this, and we’ll proceed.”

The issue was brought up again in August, when student body President Erica Stringham presented a joint resolution to trustees passed by the Associated Students of the University of Utah in support of a sanctuary campus.

“At the center of this conversation is an important responsibility we all share, ensuring that every student feels safe and supported on this campus regardless of documentation or immigration status,” Stringham told trustees at the time.

Trustee Chair Katie Eccles said she did not immediately have an answer, but would seek one. That’s when she reached out to Landward.

During a meeting this week, Eccles shared Landward’s letter and said that while the U.’s hands are tied, “We, as trustees, all care deeply about the safety and success of all university students.”

In his letter, Landward acknowledged “the described impact immigration policies have on some U of U students.”

The U. has the highest number of enrolled international students of any school in Utah, at 2,976 for fall 2025 (the most recent data available). That accounts for about 8% of the student population.

It also has about 50 undocumented students attending each year who receive the in-state tuition rate, according to Utah System of Higher Education data. Those students are referred to as “Dreamers” and often brought at a young age to the U.S., where they then grow up but do not have legal status. They are exempt from deportation through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which has faced repeated legal challenges.

Landward said he hears the concerns, but at this time, “There is no indication that immigration policies enforcement by the federal government on the U of U’s campus is impeding the U of U’s mission or functioning, its role or its values of free expression and inquiry.”

So, he concluded, the school will not be granted an exemption.

In a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday, Landward noted the guidance only applies to the institution and its leaders.

“It does not restrict free speech, debate or discussion about this or other subjects among students, faculty, staff and individuals on our campuses,” he said.

Campus police ‘should not be deputized’

Aside from the neutrality policy, Landward said schools are also required to comply with federal immigration enforcement officers if they have lawful court orders or judicial warrants; schools cannot interfere.

That doesn’t mean schools must take an active role in immigration enforcement, Landward noted. And he doesn’t advise that institutions do.

“Campus police across USHE are tasked to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff, and they should not be deputized to engage in activities, including federal immigration enforcement, that fall outside of that mission,” Landward wrote.

The U.’s chief safety officer, Keith Squires, has previously said his campus police department will not participate in any federal immigration enforcement.

In March, Squires said he is in regular communication with ICE’s regional directors, who have said they won’t conduct enforcement at Utah’s public universities or colleges.

If that were to change, Squires said he doesn’t want the U.’s campus police department to be deputized to assist — something other city and county law enforcement agencies in throughout the state have agreed to.

“University police have not and do not intend to engage in federal immigration enforcement,” Squires has said.