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Border Patrol Banned From UC Irvine Job Fair

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 06:01 PST, Oct 26, 2015

Border Patrol agents pulled out of a University of California at Irvine job fair after students protested the presence of the men and women who risk their lives for the sake of national security.

UC Irvine students protested the Border Patrol job fair appearance because they claim the agents participate in “unjust killings,” racial profiling, “unjust violence,” and use excessive force when apprehending illegal immigrants sneaking across the border in the United States.

The University of California at Irvine protesters were ultimately successful in their attempt to run members of the U.S. Border Control off campus and out of the lists of UCI Fall Career Fair list of presenters.

“We regret to inform the community that out of concern for the safety of CBP Recruitment Officers, U.S. Customs & Border Protection will no longer be participating in the UCI Fall Career Fair,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Ralph DeSio told Fox News.

DeSio referred any UC Irvine students interested in serving their country by joining the U.S. Border Patrol to visit the agency’s recruitment website.

The Change.org petition started in protest of the Border Patrol UCI Fall Career Fair visit claimed that simply permitting the trained agents onto the campus would prove traumatic for the students.

“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,” an excerpt from the petition read.

UC Irvine College Republicans group president Rob Petrosyan said that the majority of the students who signed the anti-Border Patrol petition were not even enrolled as students at the school. Petrosyan said the protest was organized by outside instigators who wanted to politicize a job fair, which was geared to help students find employment upon graduation.

“I haven’t seen that petition distributed around the UCI class pages, and it seems like most of the signatures are from outside UCI,” Petrosyan said. “If you don’t like the Border Patrol, it still doesn’t give you license to demand their removal. Especially since they were there to recruit for jobs as opposed to running patrols.”

Individuals who were shocked by the rude reception offered to the U.S. Border Control on the UC Irvine campus were quick to point out that even if all 640 people who signed the protest petition, that figures represents only two percent of the 30,000 student population on the campus.

“The Border Patrol in San Diego conducted 37 rescue missions and saved 96 people from October 1, 2014, to August 31, 2015, rescuing them from the elements and environment when they attempted to cross into the U.S. illegally,” DeSio added when referencing the many safety and security services the agents provide.

The UC Irvine Facebook page was filled with debate about the Border Patrol fall career fair controversy.

“Students didn’t want Border Patrol there because it is an immoral, human rights-violating institution,” wrote a commenter identified as ?Levi Vonk?. “This is about denouncing an organization that has ruined literally millions of people’s lives through detention and deportation, and has deported unknown thousands to their deaths in their home countries. This is a civil rights movement for everyone, regardless of citizenship. This is bravery.”

The U.S. Border Patrol received a refund of the $600 vendor fee the agency had paid to attend the University of California at Irvine job fair. Agents had participated in several student job fairs on the campus since 2010.

Earlier this year, UC Irvine also sparked nationwide debate when the student senate voted to ban the American flag because they felt it represented hate speech and made students, staff, and visitors feel “very uncomfortable and unsafe.”

What do you think about the UC Irvine protest to ban the Border Patrol from the fall career fair?

[Image via Shutterstock.com]

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