Editor’s note: Full names are normally required for interviews in articles published by The Globe. For this story, anonymity was granted to students who expressed safety or privacy concerns.
Anti-ICE and pro-immigrant chants echoed outside the Student Center at Salt Lake Community College Tuesday morning during a student-led protest against U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s attendance at the Veteran Job fair.
About 50 people gathered on the west side of the Student Center near the Alder Plaza at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus, where students and community members protested for nearly three hours in 40-degree weather, chanting “We’re not cold; we’re not afraid. Minneapolis taught us to be brave,” and “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”
Protestors spoke publicly and shared their concerns, personal testimonies and hopes for the institution.
The protest followed the announcement that CBP recruiters would be on campus. Students and community members organized the event by sharing a flyer on social media with the message “DHS out of SLCC” and “Stop DHS Recruitment.”
Student response to CBP on campus
“When I first heard about it, I was pretty upset, especially considering everything that they’ve been connected to out in Minneapolis and in other places around the country,” said biology major and Latinx United for Change and Activism (LUChA) member Citlali Nava.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection have increased immigration raids across the country, especially in Minneapolis, with Operation Metro Surge, after President Donald Trump’s return to office in 2025.
Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University have seen student pushback at their job fairs due to CBP’s attendance.
“I just don’t think it’s right to allow them to come here and continue to instill fear in students, like they have at UVU and BYU as well,” Nava continued.
Timmerman, an economics major at SLCC, who chose not to give a last name, learned about the protest from a flyer in the AAB building.
“I’m not a big fan of ICE,” said Timmerman. “There [are] a lot of minority groups in SLCC, and a lot of those minority groups can be put in danger by ICE.”
Twenty-eight percent of students at SLCC identify as Latinx, and 31% identify as students of color, making SLCC the most diverse student body in Utah.
Another student who asked to remain anonymous also shared concerns for their classmates after learning that CBP would be coming to campus.
“I was pretty overwhelmed, especially knowing a lot of my friends are immigrants and come from immigrant backgrounds, [and] knowing that their safety could be messed with here at SLCC,” they said. “It’s also annoying seeing they’re trying to recruit other students here, so I wanted to be here to support and show that they [the students] do matter.”
Lack of transparency
Many students said they were unaware that CBP would attend the job fair because SLCC made no official announcement, leading to a lack of trust among the student body.
According to Olivia Marron, a business major and protest organizer, she was told by Dean of Students and Associate Vice President Candida Mumford that the SLCC administration and marketing team met with President Greg Peterson and collectively decided not to publicly announce CBP’s attendance.
“I was shocked, really concerned, [and] just wanted answers, [and] confirmation,” said Marron.
“I was infuriated,” Marron continued. “And so, me and a lot of other students spent time last week meeting with Candida, trying to get more clarity on the situation.”
Marron said the lack of communication meant many students had no idea that CBP would be on campus.
“I think that it’s horrible that so many students didn’t even know this was happening today,” said Marron. “Multiple people I talked to, that were just walking by, were like ‘What? CBP is recruiting there? That’s crazy.’”
Nava said she has also struggled with the lack of communication with students.
“Earlier, [Olivia] said that staff had known for about a month, and they didn’t start telling students until about two weeks ago,” said Nava. “I think that there needs to be more transparency about who’s coming here.”
Importance of speaking out
Nursing student and SLCC Student Association President Roena Mae Delfin said she joined the protest to support fellow students worried about CBP on campus and stressed the importance of students speaking out.
“This is our community, and our voice is what shapes our community,” said Delfin. “Speaking up together and standing together as students for what we believe in is really impactful and powerful.”
Marron concurred, adding that organizing on campus helps keep students safe and connected with others.
“Having these community connections within the student body is important so that we can inform each other,” said Marron.
How SLCC can better support students
Delfin said the college can improve their support by centering the student body in decision-making and listening to their concerns.
“Supporting students is actually listening to what students are trying to say, and regardless of a lot of restrictions, I believe there are a lot of ways that you [the college] can … still give that support to students,” she said.
She added that students need to feel heard to know the college cares about them, noting she wished that happened more often.
Student demands
Marron outlined long-terms goals of organizers to ensure student safety on campus; one request proposes making SLCC a sanctuary campus, to keep ICE off campuses, referencing student demands at the University of Utah.
Another demand is establishing a forum where students can “openly express their concerns and have these concerns documented and relayed to the administration.”
The last demand is a clear communication channel.
“In the future, in the case of ICE or CBP coming onto the campus, [communicate] so that students have a quick way of being informed and can make an informed decision on if they want to come to school that day or if they don’t,” said Marron. “At the very least, we should give students the chance to make that decision.”
View our photo gallery for more images of the protest, as captured by Globe photographer Saria Harris.
