In the early afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 15, an unmarked black SUV pulled into Drew, simply to be used by the staff of the Shakespeare Theatre for a campus activity. Around the same time, some emergency vehicles pulled onto campus “to assist an injured employee,” said a statement later that day.
Little did these vehicles’ occupants know: they would soon be at the center of a campus-wide panic that was about to descend upon the entire school.
The cause of all this chaos was a flurry of existing tensions finally rising up to a boiling point, along with some unfortunate timing and premature assumptions. ICE, formally known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is known to use unmarked, dark-colored vehicles and local law-enforcement cooperation during raids.
Due to recent ICE presences on campuses like Columbia and Rutgers Universities, as well as in other schools and communities nationwide, Drew students have been on edge and on high alert ever since President Donald Trump took office.
As a result of all this, the sight of an unmarked black SUV followed by several emergency vehicles caused the Drew community to jump into action. Starting around 11:30 a.m., YikYak posts began to spread far and wide across the Drew community. “ICE is in Chatham and Madison, [please] be safe everyone,” read one. “ICE might be on campus guys…not confirmed. But be safe please!!” said another.
Group chats began to launch into frenzy. Students and faculty alike, both inside classrooms and outside on the paths, began to whisper amongst themselves, looking over their shoulders as they walked. A sense of anxiety and paranoia was palpable throughout the Forest as they darted back towards dorms and other keycard-protected spaces, those with classes keeping their heads on a swivel as they went between buildings.
After many hurried check-ins with Residence Life and Campus Security, it was finally determined that the SUV and the emergency vehicles did not belong to ICE and, in fact, were not even related to each other. To students’ relief, the alert had turned out to be a false alarm.
As the dust settled, a statement was issued via LiveSafe and email by Vice President of Campus Life Frank Merckx: “The University has been responding to and investigating these reports [of ICE on campus]. As of now, there is no identifiable information that ICE has been here. Throughout the afternoon, we have been in conversation with local authorities.”
Merckx continued: “We have investigated a few vehicles that have been shared with us and none of those are tied to law enforcement or ICE…one was a vehicle used by the Shakespeare Theatre staff who was on campus working with students. Additionally, there was police and medical services activity on campus to assist an injured employee.”
He also shared resources, including a Drew page titled “Information and Concerns Regarding ICE,” a New Jersey state Know Your Rights Information Hub and links to purchase a temporary Drew parking permit (another vehicle thought to belong to ICE turned out to belong to a student who had not purchased one).
As the community recovers from these events, students remain vigilant and hyper-aware. The outlook remains uncertain regarding the activities of ICE in and around New Jersey and indeed nationwide, and it remains to be seen whether our campus will be visited by immigration authorities anytime soon.
Sabr Keres-Siddiqui is a junior majoring in political science and double minoring in sociology and anthropology.
