Woke Columbia students, faculty melt down over ICE recruitment at school

Columbia University received pushback from students and faculty after a recruitment advertisement for federal immigration agencies was posted on its website.

The university’s School of Professional Studies had advertised a February 18 virtual career expo hosted by US Customs and Border Protection. The description said the event aimed to “protect the homeland” and recruit thousands of individuals, noting that various Department of Homeland Security agencies would be in attendance.

"This is a unique opportunity to learn more about our mission and how you could contribute to it, making a positive impact on yourself, your community and your country,” the description stated.

The post drew backlash on the far-left campus, which has been the site of numerous political protests in recent years. Students and faculty called on the university to remove the event

“This event undermines campus trust, makes parts of our community feel targeted or unsafe, and further damages Columbia’s public standing by reinforcing the view that we are complicit in the turn towards authoritarianism,” wrote a faculty coalition, according to the New York Post. “Silence will be read as consent.”

The university’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists also criticized the event, saying, “Our university is not just complicit, it is actively facilitating the recruitment of people like Border Patrol Agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection Officer Raymundo Guttierez, the two killers of Alex Pretti.”

By the end of the day on February 11, Columbia had removed the promotion. The university said the recruitment listing appeared on its website through a third-party platform it uses to manage the job board. It added that, in response to the backlash, it would only promote its own events on its website moving forward.

“The University do not control or select the employers available on the… network,” a university spokesperson said. “Job opportunities or career expo events made available on the platform should not be construed as a sponsorship or endorsement by… the university.”

Columbia has already seen protests this month by activists who oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce federal immigration law. Earlier this month, protesters were arrested after blocking a street outside the university.