By Kaitlyn Fleming and Baylee Parsons
MU, The Parthenon
Federal immigration enforcement agents are not only on duty in large cities, but also in Huntington as illustrated by a public sighting near campus that garnered more than 1,000 shares on Facebook in early January.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were spotted on 18th Street beside Marshall Commons Jan. 8, prompting concern among students and residents and raising questions about the role of local and university officials.
As reported by WOWK, a state trooper and an ICE agent detained an undocumented man after pulling him over for failing to signal and running a red light as he turned onto Fifth Avenue.
ICE is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. Formed by the government in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, ICE’s mission is to “protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety,” according to its website.
With ICE holding a record 73,000 people in detention as of mid-January, worry quickly spread across social media for Marshall’s international students; as of the Fall 2025 Semester, 189 are enrolled at the university.
Campus Safety and Ice Activity
University representatives later confirmed the individual taken into custody was not a Marshall student and had no affiliation with the university.
Leah Payne, the director of University Communications, said the university had no prior knowledge of the ICE-related detention near the university’s campus on that day.
“Marshall’s Office of Public Safety was notified following a traffic stop on 18th Street,” Payne said. “The person who was detained was not affiliated with the university.”
She went on to say the university is aware there is ICE presence currently in Huntington.
“Marshall is aware that ICE and other federal and state law enforcement agencies are operating in the Huntington area, focused on a limited set of individuals, none of whom are affiliated with Marshall University at this time,” she said.
In regards to federal law enforcement activity on campus, Payne said the Marshall University Police Department maintains a good working relationship with federal law enforcement agencies working in the area.
“Most of the time, activity is coordinated in advance,” she said. “MUPD asks the university community to contact their office if a federal officer arrives on campus.”
Mistie Bibbee, the director of Housing and Residence Life, said resident advisers have not had any specific ICE-related training for this reason.
“The expectation is that any outside law enforcement agency entering the residence halls is coordinating with MUPD,” Bibbee said, explaining resident advisers have been instructed to ensure both MUPD and supervisory housing staff are aware of the situation.
The university, Payne said, also upholds close, ongoing communication with local, state and federal law enforcement through MUPD who is “fully engaged in ensuring our campus remains safe.
“We understand the fear that some are feeling at this time of uncertainty and would encourage anyone to reach out to campus safety or student support offices for additional resources,” Payne said.
In addition to student support offices, she said the university has sent email responses to individual students and parents who inquired about the activity.
Additionally, Payne said, “Our Office of Student Affairs has been communicating with concerned students both through email and social media pages.”
A Legal Perspective
Although the person detained Jan. 8 was not a Marshall student, being on campus does not necessarily grant any student immunity from having an interaction with ICE, one representative from the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia said.
The general rule with ICE agents, Legal Director Aubrey Sparks said, is they can patrol public spaces, such as the Memorial Student Center Plaza. However, they cannot enter private spaces, such as dorms or classrooms, without a judicial warrant: a court order signed by a judge.
Even so, Sparks said the matters are complicated not only by what is considered public and private on a university campus, but also by ICE’s growing number of wrongful detentions in the past year.
“A year ago or two years ago, we had a lot of clarity about, ‘Oh, well, you have this particular status,’” Sparks said. “‘If you’ve done these particular things, then you won’t get approached, or if you do, it will be an easy interaction.’
“And now, that’s not the case,” she added. “Even American citizens have to worry about whether or not they can prove to ICE that they’re here legally.”
In the case of being approached by an ICE agent, Sparks said the best practices are “to be polite but firm” about not wanting your personal belongings or property searched and to never give out falsified documents or information.
Additionally, Sparks advised international students to familiarize themselves with their rights, which can be found on ACLU-WV’s webpage, and to identify and confide in a trusted individual in case of an emergency.
“Make sure they’ve got friends on campus who know how to access their dorm or know where they keep important paperwork or have the phone numbers for their parents,” Sparks said.
Communications Director Billy Wolfe said ACLU-WV is currently working on family emergency planning documents that will be available to the public on its website once finalized.
Individuals detained by ICE in the state of West Virginia, Sparks said, should call ACLU-WV at (304) 345-9246 to be connected to state resources specializing in immigration.
Local Government Response
While the university said it had no prior knowledge of the ICE-related detention near campus, Chief of Police Phil Watkins emphasized the city’s longstanding cooperation with federal law enforcement agencies.
“The City of Huntington and the Huntington Police Department take pride in our strong history of cooperating with law enforcement partners at the local, state and federal levels,” he said. “As a standard operating procedure when a federal agency requests assistance within our jurisdiction, we attempt to accommodate that request to ensure the safety of the public and the officers involved.”
Any questions regarding the specifics of federal investigations should be directed to the federal agency involved, Watkins added.
In some cities targeted by federal immigration actions – like Minneapolis, where two American citizens were recently killed during encounters – elected officials such as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have been vocal in their opposition to the agency’s tactics.
Locally, Huntington City Councilwoman Tia Fix Rumbaugh has expressed her concerns about ICE activity.
“There are children at our schools that don’t have a parent right now in Cabell County because that parent is detained either at the Western Regional Jail, or they’ve already been shipped out of state,” Rumbaugh said.
“You hear this person going, ‘They ransacked my house, destroyed all my stuff and took my three roommates,’” she said. “I don’t think we have to enforce the law in this manner whatsoever.”
Meanwhile, Rumbaugh said while she can’t speak for every Huntington resident, the city’s response to ICE operations has left many residents feeling vulnerable and distrustful of local leadership.
“What’s the public trust in the city council? It should be at an all time low,” she said. “They don’t care what any resident says at all, and it’s absurd, and it’s sad.”
Rumbaugh said her focus lies on more than policy; she wants every person in Huntington to be treated with respect, dignity and humanity in all interactions with city leadership and federal agents.
“I think everyone needs to be reminded about the rules that we hold dear and aspire to as human beings,” Rumbaugh said, “be it the golden rule or just decent or kindness or respect towards humanity within one another.”
Rumbaugh said she believes Huntington Mayor Patrick Farrell’s response has fallen short of what some residents need to feel reassured.
“At the end of the day, Farrell wants to keep the money flowing into Huntington from federal agencies,” she said. “He’s doing the tap dance that’s necessary to keep that happening.”
Rumbaugh’s statements come amid broader discussion about city leadership as Farrell recently outlined his views on governance in a Jan. 15 Substack post.
Titled “A Republic, If We Can Keep It,” Farrell framed governance as a matter of civic responsibility and outlined three priorities for 2026: public safety, infrastructure improvements and economic development.
Farrell said despite common distractions, he urges Huntingtonians to focus on the commonalities that unite residents, emphasizing that everyone is a neighbor.
“I also believe in loving my neighbor as myself,” he said. “That is not always easy, but it is a worthy pursuit and one we share as we keep showing up for each other, for the city we call home and for our republic, if we can keep it.”
Protesters’ Rights
Following the death of Renee Good Jan. 7, at least four protests condemning the actions of ICE across the country have taken place in Huntington, with two on Marshall’s campus and another scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31.
On Saturday, Jan. 24, Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal immigration agents at a protest in Minneapolis, just two and a half weeks after Good’s death. In a Jan. 27 U.S. Customs and Border Protection report, the CBP said two agents fired at Pretti after an agent yelled, “‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times.”
As long as an individual is in a position to lawfully carry a gun, Sparks said there are no restrictions against concealed carry for protestors.
“If you’re talking about a protest situation, people are still entitled to carry at a protest,” she said. “There’s not some special law that carves that out.”
As of July 1, 2024, Marshall students, staff, faculty and community members with a valid concealed handgun license are authorized to carry a concealed weapon in designated areas on campus under the Campus Carry Policy.
While Marshall protestors may carry their weapons on campus, Sparks advised anyone doing so to proceed with caution.
“People need to have an understanding of what risks they’re taking when they use those rights,” Sparks said.
“What rights you have don’t always line up with how you get treated in a real world situation by a real world law enforcement officer,” she added.
Although it is legal to do so in public spaces, Sparks said protestors should keep the same thoughts in mind when deciding whether or not to film police officers or ICE agents.
In any case, it is worthwhile for participants to make a plan for themselves and to understand their rights before attending a protest, although most turn out to be peaceful, Sparks said.
ACLU-WV is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization that works to defend and preserve the rights guaranteed to the individuals of WV by the Constitution. For more information on protestors’ rights in the event of immigration enforcement actions, see the organization’s “Know Your Rights” guide.
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