A career fair at Chico State prompted controversy across the campus this week. That’s because Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), attended the fair.
Shasta Fox, one student protester, said allowing ICE to attend campus events makes students feel unsafe and unwanted
“It really is a slap in the face to our community and to our campus,” she said.
Some faculty members stood in solidarity with protesters and say Chico State has remained silent for too long.
Robin Averbeck teaches in the history department. She spoke directly to students and faculty who couldn’t attend the protest or career fair for fear of retaliation from school administration or ICE.
“I’m sorry . . . sorry that this is what our country looks like today, and that the institutions that are supposed to be helping them thrive are instead allowing these fascist elements to come into their community and onto their college,” Averbeck said.
Protesters called on Chico State to better support its Latinx and minority students and to speak up against agencies like ICE.
“I’m not really impressed by anything Chico State does, it's a lot of words,” Averbeck said. “If they were sincere in their claims that they want to support marginalized and minority students they wouldn’t have ICE on campus, they would take a stand.”
Chico State Public Relations Manager Andrew Staples said that as a federally funded university, Chico State is required by law to allow agencies like homeland security to participate in events like the career fair.
Staples said representatives for the agency solely attended as recruiters, not investigators, to discuss career opportunities with students.
Chico State stationed police officers and free speech advocates at the career fair in case of escalation.
The protest ended peacefully with attendees chanting as ICE officers left campus.
