A short-lived job posting for U.S. Border Patrol recruitment on the University of Minnesota’s career website sparked outrage among left-wing faculty, who called the federal agency’s presence offensive and dangerous. The ad, part of a third-party job board tool used by many colleges, was removed after complaints from professors who oppose immigration enforcement. The backlash highlights growing hostility toward law enforcement and federal agencies on left-leaning campuses.
The ad, promoting a federal webinar for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) jobs, was posted via Handshake, a common platform used by universities for career services. Though the university did not sponsor the event directly, professors condemned the school for allowing it to appear at all.
Amelia Montes, chair of the Department of Chicano and Latino Studies, said she felt “nauseated” that students could be recruited to work for agencies she associated with “human rights abuses.” Montes claimed the ad was offensive to immigrant students and undermined the school’s message of inclusion. Michael Gallope, a professor in Cultural Studies, echoed her concerns, saying federal recruitment for immigration enforcement was inconsistent with the university’s values.
Jimmy Patiño, director of the school’s Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program, called it a “mixed message” to allow CBP recruitment while also claiming to support undocumented students. He questioned whether the university had “any protocols or guidelines” in place for approving job postings by federal law enforcement agencies.
Career Services confirmed that the job webinar was not created or advertised by the university itself, but was automatically fed into the job board via Handshake’s external listings. Nevertheless, the administration quietly removed the ad from the school’s site on September 3.
The uproar reflects a growing trend on progressive campuses where federal agencies tasked with border enforcement face blanket condemnation.
