The annual job fair at Cal Poly Pomona has traditionally allowed students to network with hundreds of recruiters, but the event this year has been canceled partly because of the federal government’s scheduled attendance.
The rumor that U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement agencies will occupy some of the recruiter booths spread like fire on social media.
While Cal Poly Pomona administrators said the rumor is not true, two federal agencies did register for the event that was supposed to happen next month.
“I’m questioning, ‘Why would they do that?’” said one student, upset about the now defunct plan to have the Border Patrol participate in the job fair.
“I feel like (school administrators) are not aware of who they are bringing here for their students to be around,” another concerned student said.
In response, the university confirmed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Bureau of Investigation had planned to attend the job fair.
“Although the presence of U.S. Customs and Border Protection or other law enforcement agencies may be upsetting for some students, Cal Poly Pomona is a public university and cannot prohibit ICE, CBP or DHS from participating in career fair activities.”
Faced with uproar on social media about who’s attending the Sep. 18 – 19 event, the university emailed students to inform them that the job fair and the STEM career fair will be postponed.
“This adjustment allows us to thoughtfully reformat these events in response to student and community feedback, ensuring our career programming better serves the needs and aspirations of our students while remaining in compliance with our legal obligations as a public institution,” the school said in the email.
Provost Dr. Terri Gomez said like many colleges and universities, Cal Poly Pomona uses a program that invites pre-approved employers to participate in job fairs.
“Half of our student population is Latino, half of our student population is first generation, and we live in a predominantly Latino community,” Gomez said.
Instead of the job fairs that the school has conducted, Cal Poly Pomona said it will host smaller, more career-focused boutique events. Some of the boutique events will still include law enforcement and Border Patrol, as it has been the case for years.
NBCLA reached out to DHS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment, but has not heard back.