U.S. Customs and Border Protection pulled its Regulatory Audit Group out of a University of Illinois Chicago accounting career fair Tuesday after Mexican Students de Aztlán objected to the agency's planned appearance, according to FOX 32 Chicago. The withdrawal came just hours before the fair was set to begin at UIC's College of Business, amid objections to federal immigration agents recruiting on the grounds of a Hispanic-Serving Institution.
UIC spokesperson Brian Flood confirmed that CBP notified administrators it had decided not to participate, according to a Block Club Chicago report. The trouble started when promotional emails went out to accounting students through UIC's Handshake career portal, inviting them to “begin a rewarding career as U.S. Border Patrol Agent.” That language drew objections from Mexican Students de Aztlán, which questioned why a federal immigration enforcement agency was being allowed to solicit applicants at a school serving a large Hispanic student population in the first place.
Why the Email Struck a Nerve
UIC carries a federal Hispanic-Serving Institution designation and is identified among minority-serving institutions, and Hispanic students made up roughly 36% of undergraduate enrollment in 2024, per the University of Illinois Chicago and U.S. Department of Education data. The designation and the school's demographics help explain why students saw the CBP outreach as jarring, per the same Block Club Chicago account. University administrators, for their part, had noted that the Regulatory Audit Group was recruiting for accounting and auditing positions rather than field agent roles, though that distinction did not quiet student objections, who viewed any Border Patrol presence as incompatible with campus safety and sanctuary principles.
The dispute came amid calls for sanctuary-campus protections and greater support for undocumented students, according to Fight Back! News.
A Legal Backdrop of Sanctuary Protections
Illinois law already limits how far cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration enforcement can go. Under the Illinois TRUST Act and related education statutes, state and local law enforcement agencies are barred from assisting federal authorities with civil immigration enforcement, and public universities are required to publish procedures governing law enforcement access to campus, according to the Illinois General Assembly. Separately, Illinois House Bill 3438 requires every public university in the state to appoint an Undocumented Student Resource Liaison to help undocumented and mixed-status students navigate academic and legal issues.
Regional enforcement under “Operation Midway Blitz” brought immigration enforcement activity to Chicago, according to In These Times.
Part of a Broader Campus Movement
The UIC job fair standoff is not the only recent controversy involving Border Patrol in an educational setting. Hoodline previously reported on a similar clash after Border Patrol's cameo at Brennan High on February 27 sparked student objections almost immediately.
The UIC protest also comes amid broader discussions about immigration enforcement.
The Dollar Cost Behind the Protests
Beyond the campus dispute, UIC's own researchers have quantified the economic toll of aggressive federal enforcement across the region. A study published by UIC's Great Cities Institute in September estimated that Cook County retail and restaurant businesses lost $1.26 billion in commercial activity due to reduced public movement during heightened federal immigration enforcement.
How public universities in sanctuary jurisdictions like Illinois will continue to balance open career fair access for federal agencies against state sanctuary laws and student demands remains an open question. For now, CBP's Regulatory Audit Group is out of Tuesday's accounting fair, and organizers with Mexican Students de Aztlán have signaled they intend to keep pressing the university on the issue.
