Cal Poly Pomona postponed its annual fall job fair this week following criticism over the inclusion of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as a recruiter. The decision reflects heightened sensitivity around immigration agencies on college campuses, especially those with significant Latino populations, like Cal Poly Pomona, which has nearly 28,000 students, the majority being Latino.
Interim President Iris S. Levine stated that the university is using the feedback to redesign career programming to better meet student needs and workforce demands. She expressed gratitude to those who voiced their concerns, saying, “We have listened carefully and are leveraging this input to design career programming this fall that is more personal and better tailored.”
The controversy began when rumors circulated on social media that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would attend the job fair. However, according to CalMatters, ICE was not registered to participate. CBP, however, was among the 200 employers set to attend and has been a regular participant since 2017.
Tracee Passeggi, the career center director, noted receiving 200 to 250 emails protesting the presence of immigration law enforcement at the job fair. The campus is now working to finalize plans for a rescheduled event by late September. The postponed fair was initially planned as two events over consecutive days, with CBP scheduled for one of those days.
Cal Poly Pomona uses Handshake, a job recruitment platform that connects students with over 106,000 employers, including federal agencies like CBP and ICE. According to Cal Poly Pomona’s FAQ, the university cannot deny access to federal employers as it would violate nondiscrimination policies.
The university is committed to redesigning career programming to align with its polytechnic identity and address student concerns. Details on future programming will be shared soon, as the campus aims to balance legal obligations with community feedback.
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