Border Patrol pulls out of college job fair after complaints of ‘insensitivity’ to illegals

U.S. Customs and Border Protection withdrew from Thursday’s jobs fair at the University of California-Irvine after students complained that the agency’s presence would be insensitive to illegal immigrants.

The decision came earlier this week after 659 students on the campus of nearly 31,000 signed an online petition in two days calling for the Border Patrol to be removed as a participant in the annual Fall Career Fair.

“The undocumented community is directly affected by deportation and detention policies that are carried out by Border Patrol, and having Border Patrol agents on campus is a blatant disregard to undocumented students’ safety and well-being,” said the petition posted on Change.org by student Amy Yu.

She described the U.S.-Mexico border as “an arbitrary boundary line that serves to control migration and contributed to the notion of ’illegal’ immigration.”

“The fact that UCI has invited an agency known for racial profiling, use of force, and unjustified violence is an act of disrespect and insensitivity and ignores the struggles and needs of the undocumented student community on campus,” Ms. Yu said in the petition.

University spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon issued a statement Wednesday confirming that the agency had elected to skip the event.

“They felt that the opposition to their attendance would be a distraction from their recruitment efforts,” the statement said. “However, the agency will continue to utilize UCI’s Career Center on-line job postings system to list available positions for those students interested in working with CBP.”

She added that “UCI is committed to bringing a full spectrum of employers to campus to meet with our student population.”

Parshan Khosravi, president of the Associated Students of UCI, had also objected to having the Border Patrol on campus in an email to the Career Center, which had refused requests to rescind the agency’s invitation, according to the student newspaper, New University.

He said the role of the CBP is “against the nature of our campus’ values for welcoming communities regarding their background. We cannot expect undocumented students to not be unhappy or frustrated, that’s only natural.”

But Rob Petrosyan, president of UCI College Republicans, took issue with the campaign in an email to the College Fix, a conservative website.

“I feel that these efforts are an attempt to politicize a jobs fair that is supposed to help college students find much needed work once they graduate,” Mr. Petrosyan said. “Just because some disagree with what they do does not mean they can call for its removal.”

He added, “If you don’t approve of U.S. Customs, don’t apply to work for them, it’s that simple. As for concerns over safety, it’s not like the recruiters will actively be seeking to deport students.”

The Fall Career Fair gives students access to 90 companies and agencies, Ms. Lawhon said.