Undocumented Cal State Students Fear Border Patrol’s Participation in Career Fair

Border_Patrol_ATV_IMG_5278Students at the California State University, San Marcos staged a demonstration Thursday protesting the inclusion of Border Patrol representatives at the school’s career fair.

Sociology professor Marisol Clark-Ibanez tweeted a photo Thursday evening showing students holding signs with messages such as “Stop tearing us apart” and “CSUSM: A Safe Space?” in front of the table advertising positions with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), while a uniformed officer records them on a cell phone.

The next day, she sent an open letter to Career Center Director Pamela Wells explaining that, as faculty advisor to the Standing Together As oNe Dream (STAND) student group, she became alarmed upon arriving on campus Thursday morning to find a CBP vehicle and three police cars (all empty) parked near the student union.

“My heart froze because I immediately became concerned for our students’ safety and wellbeing,” she recalls. “When I parked in the parking garage, I texted Julio (STAND president) and let him know what I saw, ask where he was, and if he (and others) were okay.”

After determining that the law enforcement vehicles were on campus for the career fair taking place that day, Julio “gathered students to assemble an impromptu protest to let Border Patrol know their practices in our community were unjust and detrimental,” during which both sides took photos and videos in case the demonstration got out of hand. (Read more from “Undocumented Cal State Students Fear Border Patrol’s Participation in Career Fair” HERE)

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