A course at University of California, Berkeley reportedly advances the viewpoint that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a “racist deportation force” and aligns with the “abolish ICE” movement. The class assignments and readings emphasize immigrant‑advocacy positions and omit alternative perspectives on federal immigration enforcement.
The course in question is listed as Legal Studies 132AC: Immigration and Citizenship and is scheduled for upcoming semesters. Course syllabi for Spring 2024 and Spring 2025 (obtained by the reporting outlet) show required materials including articles titled “It’s Time to Abolish ICE” and “Trump Wants to Take Away Your Citizenship.”
Those readings characterize ICE as a “white‑supremacist surveillance state” and an agency devoted “almost solely to cruelly and wantonly breaking up families.” They also describe federal immigration law and border enforcement as rooted in “racial superiority.”
The course is taught by two professors who are experienced in deportation‑defense legal work and have ties to activist organizations supporting detained immigrants. One assignment requires students to reflect on how the reading may have changed their perspective.
Critics argue that offering a class at a taxpayer‑funded institution that presents one ideological viewpoint without required materials defending or explaining federal immigration enforcement raises concerns about intellectual balance and fairness. According to the report, the syllabi include “no required materials that defend the role of immigration law in protecting national security or discuss the constitutional basis for federal enforcement powers.”
Supporters of the course might argue that higher education serves to challenge mainstream assumptions and to explore historically marginalized perspectives. Detractors say a university should present competing viewpoints so students can reason for themselves, rather than being guided toward a predetermined conclusion.
