U.S. Customs and Border Protection representatives are no longer invited to one San Diego high school's annual career fair after students expressed concern about having them come, San Diego Unified School District spokeswoman Linda Zintz told NBC 7 San Diego..
The decision comes after people at Lincoln High school complained about having Border Patrol agents on campus. Students will learn about different jobs at the annual career fair, which takes place Thursday.
The law enforcement agency participated in last year's fair, but members of a Latino club on campus called M. E. C. H. A. expressed concerns about having agents at the school.
"Banning law enforcement agency from a high school campus is not acceptable," said Sally Smith, an education reform activist.
She feels the school's decision needs to be addressed at a higher level. She argues certain teachers are involved in the complaints about Border Patrol on a campus where the majority of students are Hispanic.
"I think that teachers imposed their personal opinions on students and caused fear where there wasn't any fear before," Smith said.
It's unclear how many students expressed concerns and whether teachers were also involved.
Local
"Students should learn to have respect for law enforcement. And also if they have concerns about issues in our society, there are ways to address it. Excluding the U.S. Border patrol isn't a good precedent," Smith said.
Student Carlos, 18, aspires to work as a Border Patrol agent, he said, and was looking forward to learning about a career path with them.
"Some people are against Border Patrol coming here, but they shouldn't really be afraid of them coming here because they're actually a really good organization for them to work at," said Carlos, a student at the school.
A school district official says the school is planning on a field trip for those who are interested in a career in border patrol.
