University administration has dozens of unauthorized flyers removed
by Leslie Layton | Posted May 6, 2025
The flyer that appeared on classroom doors last week
This story was updated at 4 p.m. today to include the university’s response.
Three hundred flyers suddenly appeared on campus doors at Chico State University last week, warning that law enforcement officers – a reference to immigration agents — would only be allowed in classrooms and other “private spaces” if they possessed judicial warrants.
“CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION” warns a flyer banner highlighted in yelllow. The flyer then notes that a classroom is a “private space” with entry restricted to faculty, staff and enrolled students. “Law enforcement may only enter with a valid judicial warrant … Everyone in the United States, regardless of immigration status, has the right to remain silent,” it continues.read more
ICE representatives participate in CSUC student recruitment
by ChicoSol staff | Posted February 26, 2025
“Fuera ICE” (Out with ICE) reads a protester’s sign at the BMU today.
About 40 protesters gathered in front of the Bell Memorial Union (BMU) today to protest the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Chico State job fair.
Two recruiters from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a law enforcement agency within ICE, were recruiting at the fair. “No justice, no peace, until ICE leaves,” protesters chanted in the plaza outside the BMU as other students waited in line to check in so that they could attend the fair.
The single-door check-in process was a new step implemented for today’s fair, said Andrew Staples, university public relations manager.
A Chico State counselor participated in today’s protest, stating that ICE’s presence “causes fear and mental health anguish. It’s an impact on students.” He declined to identify himself because of what he said are his concerns about retaliation from the administration.
“I think it’s important for students and for faculty and staff to stand up and say something,” the counselor said. “I’ve met students who had concerns and issues and regards about the new immigration policies, and also having ICE on campus or people who represent Homeland Security. They have talked to me multiple times.”
PR Manager Staples told ChicoSol that he recognized that “it’s unsettling times, and it hasn’t been the most comfortable last couple of months on campus for sure.” But he also noted that “we are legally obligated to have organizations like HSI there.”
“We did not invite them, but we make these career fairs available to all kinds of organizations, and they evaluate and they sign up,” Staples said. “Once they sign up, as a federally-funded institution it’s our legal responsibility to not discriminate, to allow everyone who signs up to come.”
Staples thinks of the “peaceful protest” as a good example of “our campus community, making their voices heard, advocating for what they believe in.”
Staples said the safety measures for this career fair were “different” from measures implemented previously. “We knew that there was a strong possibility of free speech activity, and it’s a little bit more regulated on getting in and getting out.”
Two or three police officers stood next to the only entrance and exit. People needed to show student identification and check in their bags before attending, several fair attendees told ChicoSol.
A flier circulating earlier this week on social media announced a sit-in inside the BMU, and said, “Sitters will meet inside around the ICE recruitment table and sit down on all sides of it to prevent anyone from approaching.” That kind of disruption did not occur today.
Mac, a former Chico State student who preferred to remain unidentified, said she helped spread the word about the protest. “People who are currently allowed inside have to sign in, check in their bags. I doubt that if anybody from this (protest) area walked up, they would let us in,” she said.
Staples said that a sit-in, or chanting inside the BMU, would violate the university’s free speech policy, but all CSUC students were allowed to participate in the fair as long as it wasn’t a “disruption.”
ChicoSol was not allowed entrance to the fair or given an opportunity to seek comment from ICE recruiters.
Ty Torres, a construction management student at Chico State, attended the career fair inside the BMU. He said the protest was “kind of like an overreaction.”
“They (the recruiters) weren’t just talking about ICE, they were talking about other opportunities in their field. They were not actually deporting people right now,” Torres said.
Torres and his friend Payton Wheeler talked to the recruiters at the HSI booth. “They were hiring for a broad amount of positions, like sort of analytical stuff, more like information processing. They’re (also) having some sort of internship process,” Wheeler said.
A march against HSI’s presence took place on campus on Feb. 24.
Anna Krause, an organizer of the protest held earlier this week, said she hoped students attending the fair understand the role of ICE.
“[We want] to make sure that people know that this organization they might be interested in working for has a very real and a very scary impact on their own classmates and members of their own community as well,” Krause said.
Homeland Security Investigations has job and volunteer openings
by ChicoSol staff | Posted February 24, 2025
Students protested at Chico State today.
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.
ImmSchools: Public schools can create a safe environment
by Julian Mendoza | Posted February 12, 2025
photo by Julian Mendoza
Kassandra Ramondo (left) and Lizette Pilar
Hundreds of people gathered on Chico State’s campus Feb. 5 for a peaceful march in what was one of several recent local protests advocating for immigrant rights.
“I think it’s super important that people understand and know that immigrants do make the backbone of our country,” said Lizette Pilar, program coordinator at Chico State’s Gender & Sexuality Equity Coalition. “Especially in agriculture, a lot of our pickers are illegal immigrants or undocumented.”
Efforts are underway across the state — including passage of new laws, street protests and information sessions — to push back against the Trump Administration’s most extreme immigration measures. Downtown Los Angeles has had multiple protests including one that blocked U.S. 101 for hours. Ethnic Media Services (EMS), a a nonprofit news and communications agency, held a know-your-rights training Feb. 7 for media organizations.
One of the speakers was Amanda Alvarado-Ford, deputy directing attorney for the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area. She represents low-income immigrants who are mostly from Spanish-speaking backgrounds, and provided a series of suggestions that can help prepare communities.
“As undocumented people here in the U.S. we still are entitled to Constitutional protections,” said Alvarado-Ford. “Especially the protection to remain silent, and the protection and the right to be free from unlawful searches and seizures.”
Viridiana Carrizales, founder of ImmSchools, discussed how parents and educators can work together to mitigate fears, as well as create safe havens for schools. “I started this organization because no kid should ever be afraid of our schools,” Carrizales said.
Chico State students lead protest
Chico’s Feb. 5 protesters encountered a mostly positive reception as they walked around campus and parts of downtown. Bystanders and drivers showed their support by cheering and encouraging the crowd. Some drivers honked their horns in support of the pro-immigrant message.
“Since we are an organization that advocates for women and (the) LGBTQA community, we felt the need to stand up,” said Pilar, referring to the immigrant community.
“Say it Loud. Say it clear. Immigrants are welcome here,” protesters chanted as they made their way through campus and downtown Chico.
Their signs championed the importance of immigrants in American society and criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Popular Hispanic and Mexican music as well as dance performances were an integral part of the march.
“We depend on immigrants in this country,” said Dr. Gloria Lopez, an assistant professor in the Chico State History Department. “Immigrants are ultimately human beings.”
Protecting Constitutional rights
More than 200,000 people have been arrested in the past 30 days, according to data from ICE and reported by EMS. At least 8,000 people have been deported, and ICE has been instructed to arrest at least 1,200-1,500 people per day.
Some of Alvarado-Ford’s tips include:
Have access to documents that verify that you have lived in the U.S. in a safe, secure place where you or your loved ones can access them.
Undocumented citizens who have submitted an application for asylum, U Visa, T Visa or VAWA should have a copy of their receipt.
You have the right to remain silent; don’t say anything or lie to an ICE official. Assert that right in a respectful way to avoid undue harshness from an ICE agent.
If you encounter ICE at your door, you have the right to insist upon a judicial warrant.
