ICE Table at BSU Career Fair Sparks Outrage Among Student Body
On February 11, BSU hosted its annual criminal justice career fair which was host to numerous organizations, one of which sparked major controversy among the student body.
Student Avery Barry was exploring the many organizations tabling at the career fair when she was shocked to find herself face to face with a table for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The table had pamphlets about the organization as well as people working the table like the other organizations tabling at the event.
Barry shared her thoughts about the experience, stating, “It’s really concerning to see ICE on campus. They’re a notoriously unreliable group and them being on campus at all is a risk to students.”
Prior to the career fair, an email was sent out to the student body from the office of BSU president Fred Clark in response to president Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration. The email consisted of a large list of resources available to protect students, including a BSU hosted “Know Your Rights” presentation and reassurance that “BSUPD will not participate in joint efforts with immigration authorities to contact, question, detain or arrest individuals for violations of federal immigration laws.”
While the email did not explicitly say whether or not they would be able to prevent ICE’s presence on campus in any capacity and was more focused on what students can do to protect themselves if ICE came to campus, some students felt that the administration’s words were hypocritical.
Barry said, “Whether or not the administration knew about their presence on campus, the faculty organizing the event should’ve known better, especially in a political environment that’s dangerous for students, [now more] than ever.”
President Clark was unavailable for comment.
