Temple Law Students Demand Ban on DHS Recruitment, Alerts When ICE Agents on Campus

Temple Law Students Demand Ban on DHS Recruitment, Alerts When ICE Agents on Campus

Temple Law School students are demanding that officials ban the Department of Homeland Security from recruiting on campus and alert students when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are in the area.

The students, reportedly sixty in number, submitted a proposal to administrators at the end of March but said it has gone nowhere. Officials say they have received emails from anonymous accounts, but need to talk to actual human beings before making decisions.

“The Law School is aware of the student concerns that have been raised anonymously and remains open to constructive dialogue,” a spokesperson told The Temple News. “Administrators have tried to invite students to have a conversation but have not yet received a response from identifiable Temple students.”

During a March 25 event, the students “presented the demands” in person, the campus newspaper reported.

“The students followed up with Temple Law administration through an anonymous email, which was provided to the dean, on March 26 and 31, but did not receive a response as of April 3,” the student newspaper reported.

The aspiring attorneys said “it is vital for Temple Law to respond to the aggressive and violent immigration enforcement that is occurring across the country.”

The career services office should not promote “events or alumni achievements in connection with ICE or DHS,” according to a list of demands reviewed by the student newspaper.

The office “should not prioritize chasing prestige and appeasing bad faith actors over connecting students with meaningful, value-aligned legal careers,” the students reportedly wrote in their demands.

While the university has not responded to all the students’ requests, it “encourages individuals to contact the Department of Public Safety to report law enforcement sightings on campus.”

University President John Fry also wrote a message to the campus community on March 24, sympathizing with “sense of anxiety” many are feeling.

“At this time, there have been no confirmed reports of ICE activity on our campus or any non-routine law enforcement presence nearby,” he wrote.

ICE agents have been making arrests in the Philadelphia area, however.

Among those are Christopher Bailey, who attempted to hit someone with his car and then “pulled a knife and attempted to stab the individual,” according to a DHS news release.

“Bailey then got back into his car, chased and ran over the victim, and afterward, fled the scene,” the department stated.

The Jamaican illegal immigrant has been allowed to roam the country since 2023, when an immigration judge “declared that Bailey is not a public danger.” He has been illegally living in the country since 2009, when he overstayed a tourist visa.

Homeland Security also reports numerous arrests of criminal illegal immigrants in Pennsylvania, including child molesters, drug traffickers, and rapists.

[Featured image courtesy of ICE]

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.