At a recent job fair held at the University of California’s Irvine campus, an extremely ironic event took place: the U.S. Border Patrol was rejected. Just days before this fair was scheduled to kick off and provide students with direction and clarity on potential careers, a rather large group of students united and took a stand against one of the booths that was going to be set up.
Out of the University’s 31,000 enrolled students, 659 signed an online petition demanding that the U.S. Border Patrol’s booth be removed from this event. This petition read, “the undocumented community is directly affected by deportation and detention policies that are carried out by Border Patrol, and having Border Patrol agents on campus is a blatant disregard to undocumented students’ safety and well-being.”
It was neither the school nor the fair organizers who halted the Border Patrol’s presence; in fact, it was the Border Patrol itself. The representatives agreed that their attendance would cause undocumented students to feel anxious for fear of deportation.
In light of these recent events and amid growing debate over immigration issues, people are questioning the handling of illegal/undocumented immigrants in light of existing policy. Here are a few examples of what current laws grant to persons who are not residing legally within U.S. borders:
- It is mandated that K-12 teachers (and other school personnel) may not inquire whether or not a student is a citizen or legal resident.
- There is also no federal or state law that bars the admission of undocumented immigrants to any college.
- Some states even grant financial aid to undocumented immigrants if they qualify for in-state tuition.
As immigration has become one of the most contentious topics in the lead-up to the 2016 election, there is no question there will be new policies implemented. The only question is who will benefit from these new policies.