Student backlash over homeland security’s career fair attendance prompts SGA statement

By Sarah Sternhagen, Editor-in-Chief

Towson University’s Student Government Association said Tuesday it was aware of campus concerns about the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s planned attendance at a career fair next month.

In the press release, posted to Instagram, the SGA commended the student body for advocacy efforts “regarding the resurfacing of federal agency presence on campus.” 

Last semester, Homeland Security Investigations was going to attend the March career fair, but after student organizations created a petition and held protests in opposition to its attendance, HSI decided it would not attend the career fair.

A large part of the student backlash to HSI’s presence is because it’s a division of ICE, whose actions have become controversial amid a large uptick in raids on undocumented immigrants around the country. 

Now HSI is on the employer list for the September fair.

The SGA learned about HSI’s planned attendance after Towson’s Young Democratic Socialists of America club, known as YDSA, posted about the agency on Instagram, SGA President Allyyah Aali told The Towerlight in an interview. They started planning a forum for next month to discuss HSI’s presence on campus.

The SGA invited predominantly culture groups like the Latin American Student Association and other involved groups like YDSA. The Career Center, which holds the fair, will also attend. 

“We’re facilitating those conversations early on so we can be in front of the ball this time before it gets rolling,” Aali said.

Aali wants SGA to become a pillar of student advocacy, which was one of her campaign promises. Specifically being the “middle man” between students and Towson’s administration for the HSI issue.

Towson’s administration knew about the SGA press release before it was issued, according to Aali. Towson officials did not respond to The Towerlight’s request for comment by publication time Wednesday.

Junior Brayant Reyes, SGA Director of Governmental Affairs, brought the issue to the SGA executive board. The September meeting is the next step.

“It’s to hear first hand of the students who are advocating for this,” Reyes said. “Or the students who are more targeted.”

HSI is a division of ICE, but it focuses on global crime impacting America including smuggling, trafficking and organized crime, rather than dealing with undocumented immigrants already in the country. Aali and Reyes said equating HSI to ICE was contributing to unease on campus and that they want to dispel that misinformation.

“We have to be aware of who’s actually coming and educate the student body,” Reyes said.

But HSI’s presence can still be “distressing and triggering” to students, the SGA wrote in their statement. 

The Sept. 5 meeting is invitation only, but Aali is planning to hold fireside chats around October. She wants students to come voice their concerns to SGA in these open forums, including about HSI.

The U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to a request for comment by publication time Wednesday.