by Yucheng Tang
posted Feb. 24
A group of protesters circled the Chico State campus today, then gathered on the lawn near the Bell Memorial Union to protest the participation of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) at a job fair that will be held Feb. 26.
“No ICE on campus!” chanted marching protesters. “We do not need people who are choosing to dehumanize our fellow humans, our friends and our family and the members of our community on our campus, threatening their safety,” said an organizer, Anna Krause.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), San Francisco/NorCal, a law enforcement component within ICE, has registered to attend Chico State’s Business Career Fair. The flier for the fair indicates the agency has openings for special agents as well as student volunteers.
Krause, a biology graduate student, said the protest was organized spontaneously by a group of people “who saw the announcement about ICE being at the career fair and then just decided to protest.”
One protest sign read, “Mass deportation is not a career.”
Andrew Staples, public relations manager at Chico State, didn’t respond to ChicoSol’s request for comment before publication.
An email sent to the campus community from Isaac Brundage, vice president for student affairs, acknowledges that the presence of ICE on campus may be “alarming to some in our community.”
“We want to assure you that the HSI representatives attending are solely recruiters there to discuss career opportunities with students,” the email states, adding that the recruiters won’t be acting in any “enforcement capacity.”
The Feb. 21 email also says that the Career Center and Dream Center are collaborating to provide a “Know your Rights” workshop via Zoom at 3 p.m. Feb. 25.
Yucheng Tang reports for ChicoSol. Editor Leslie Layton contributed to this story.