Checklist for Supporting Non-Citizen Campus Members

The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration compiled this checklist to help campuses support their non-citizen students and employees. The checklist outlines key steps you can take to understand the needs of immigrant populations at your institution and the tools you can develop to respond to future policy changes. The checklist is intended for institutions looking to engage in cross-campus initiatives to support non-citizen community members.

Download the checklist!

Key Actions and Considerations

• Establish an immigration working group and/or identify a coordinator to:
  • Ensure coordination with different parts of the institution, including students 
  • Gain an understanding of the scope of students and employees with varied immigration statuses who may be impacted by immigration policy developments
  • Identify your institution’s existing supports and resources, as well as gaps
  • Track relevant policy developments
  • Share relevant guidance with potentially impacted populations
•  Review and update institutional policies and practices
  • Identify points of contact and share protocols for what to do if immigration enforcement officials come to campus 
  • Review FERPA and data protection guidance on campus
  • Share Know Your Rights (KYR) information to all campus members
•  Determine your communication guidance 
  • Create a communications plan for your campus
  • Communicate and meet with impacted students and employees
  • Communicate your criteria for campus messages or public statements
•  Promote holistic support services and career guidance on and off campus
  • Provide and communicate to impacted populations the availability of campus-specific holistic support services, including mental health support, grants, food security, and career guidance 
  • Establish or direct students and employees to the hub(s) where information on these services is available
  • Utilize the Higher Ed Immigration Portal to identify additional resources and to connect campus stakeholders to expert assistance
•  Expand or develop referrals to legal screenings and consultations
  • Partner with nonprofits, private attorneys, campus clinics, and others to provide legal consultations and/or referrals for legal representation
  • Refer non-citizen students, graduates, and employees to the Legal Pathways that Work learning and screening tool and resource hub