During a visit to SGA’s general body meeting Wednesday, DePaul President Robert Manuel encouraged students to make a plan for if they encounter ICE and spoke about the university’s budget struggles. Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Kimberlie Goldsberry also spoke, along with Director of Public Safety Robert Wachowski.

International student enrollment has “tanked” and budget is strained

As a result of the government slowing visa processing, international student enrollment has “tanked,” according to Manuel, and it is putting a financial strain on the university. Fall quarter international student enrollment fell by 755 students compared to last year, and there was a 62% drop in new international graduate student enrollment.

“That was about a $9 to $10 million hit,” Manuel said.

Reflecting a growing trend in universities across the country, factors such as rising healthcare costs and a greater need for financial aid among students have also contributed to DePaul’s budget issues. Manuel said DePaul is not in a “true deficit” but is adjusting the budget to prevent being in one.

Peyton Deck, chair of the Campus Affairs Committee, asked if student workers would be impacted by expected the budget cuts.

Manuel said the money allocated to DePaul from the government for student workers is still available, and cutting student workers is “not in any way the large part” of how the budget is being changed.

“There doesn’t appear to be an impact on the student working unless it’s not funded through the federal government,” Manuel said.

Goldsberry said some units could slightly reduce hours, while other units may increase hours because they have fewer people.

“It will really vary quite a bit based on the scope of responsibilities in each of those units as to what that looks like,” she said.

ICE sighting prompts questions about private vs. public campus property

Federal immigration officials were briefly spotted questioning a contract worker on the public sidewalk near Ozanam Hall on Friday, Oct. 24. 

Manuel acknowledged concerns about the email regarding the sighting being sent out two hours after the incident, and reiterated that the sighting and the university-wide message had to go through a verification process.

“We’re not the alert system for ICE, we’re the information system for the university — as quickly as we can get that stuff out there,” Manuel said.

DePaul is not required to report ICE activity on or near campus, as the federal Clery Act only mandates timely warnings for crimes that pose a threat to student or employee safety.

Aneesa Alamleh, junior representative for LAS, asked for clarification on which university spaces are fully public and which ones are private. 

“The only real private spaces that we have on campus are offices,” said Wachowski, the director of public safety.

According to DePaul’s ICE FAQ page, ICE officers are not allowed to enter spaces like residence halls, classrooms while they are in use or faculty offices unless they have a federal warrant or are granted access by someone at DePaul.

If there is enough campus support, Manuel said he would consider making more university spaces ID-swipe-accessible, though he added that was unpopular when implemented in 2023. 

He also said he would consider making a university-wide resource outlining which spaces are public and private and reiterated that DePaul’s mixed campus makes completely barring ICE difficult.

“That public way through an urban campus isn’t possible to stop,” Manuel said. “And so there’s nothing you can do in a sanctuary city preventing that from occurring.”

Federal education policies

Local universities, such as Northwestern and the University of Chicago, have large research budgets and rely more on federal research funding. They were hit harder by federal actions than DePaul, Manuel said.

The Trump administration also recently offered nine universities a compact with certain demands in return for special access to federal funds.

President Manuel said he has talked to Gov. JB Pritzker “quite a bit” on this topic. Manuel said California’s policy regarding the compact, which is punitive toward universities who sign the federal deal, is an example of something he thinks Illinois should avoid.

“Don’t put us in that position. Do your best to protect us in that case so that we can protect institutional autonomy and academic freedom,” Manuel said.

As a private institution, Manuel said DePaul has more control over its policies.

“Institutional autonomy preserves our right to judge, adjudicate and create policies for ourselves based on the uniqueness of DePaul: our mission,” Manuel said. “If you sign that compact, you’re essentially taking a federalized new version of what is ‘good’ in higher education. … And it’s incredibly ambiguous.”

Manuel concluded his remarks by encouraging students to make a personal plan if they feel anxiety about ICE.

“I say this everywhere I go — whatever your vulnerabilities are, whatever your anxieties are: create your plan,” he said.

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