A Duke student is the subject of a disciplinary investigation by the school as a result of her involvement in an ICE protest in Miami.

In November, protesters blocked the entrance to Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade County, where people suspected of being in the country without authorization are detained. More than 30 protesters were arrested.

Among them was Duke junior, Miami native and student organizer Artivista Karlin, 21.

At Duke, Karlin has organized protests of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But as an aspiring photojournalist, she was in Miami that day photographing the action, she said. She was arrested by Florida law enforcement for unlawful assembly, obstructing a highway and resisting an officer without violence, according to her arrest affadavit and other documents reviewed by The News & Observer.

Also arrested that day was David Decker, a photojournalist with the Tampa Bay Times. The charges against Decker have been dropped, and so, too, will Karlin’s charges this summer, she said. She’s on a pretrial diversion program, according to an agreement reviewed by The N&O.

“They ... temporarily shut down full operations [of the Krome Detention Center] in a historic act of nonviolent civil disobedience,” Karlin said. “I was back in the place that I grew up in for the people I love and the two places and communities I call home, Miami and Duke.”

Three months after her arrest, on Feb. 22, Karlin got an email from the Dean of Students office at Duke.

“This message is to inform you that an investigation through the Office of Students and Community Standards has been initiated regarding a report that you may have engaged in potential misconduct as a respondent under the Duke Community Standard during the Fall 2025 semester,” the email reviewed by The N&O reads.

“The report alleges you were arrested in Miami, Florida, while protesting on November 22, 2025. The alleged conduct, if substantiated, may constitute a violation of the following university policy(ies) appear(s) to be [sic]: Disruption, Interference, and Disorderly Conduct, [and] Other Violations.”

Karlin and the Duke administration were working to set up a meeting in the coming days to discuss the investigation and her continued student activism on campus. She organizes monthly days of action at Duke, leading calls for the school to resist ICE and raise its minimum wage.

Karlin says she has spoken with attorneys about what her options are if the investigation doesn’t go her way.

“I was there in my capacity as a citizen photojournalist, using photography as a message of light to bring about a better world,” Karlin said. “Instead of recognizing the courage that it takes to sacrifice one’s freedom for the right to document, the right and responsibility to use our First Amendment to safeguard our right to protest and our rights to freedom of the press, ... Duke is seeking disciplinary action against those who do exercise their constitutionally protected rights for protecting the people we love and the places that we call home.”

Two of the examples of prohibited conduct under the “Disruption, Interference, and Disorderly Conduct” policy in Duke’s community standard are as follows:

“Refusing to leave a private area or closed meeting when unauthorized to attend;”

“Interrupting or interfering with the carrying out of the duties of a university or public official, including law enforcement.”

Duke cited its policies and federal privacy laws when asked to comment on the investigation.

“The Duke Community Standard governs student conduct at Duke,” spokesperson Gregory Phillips told The N&O. “Duke adheres to federal privacy laws and cannot comment on disciplinary matters, if any, related to Duke students, including whether a student’s conduct has been investigated.”