California principal blocked Border Patrol from career fair; school district apologizes
The Coachella Valley Unified School District has apologized to the U.S. Border Patrol after one of its recruiters was barred from attending a high school career fair earlier this week.
The border patrol officer was denied from participating in the Coachella Valley High School career fair in Riverside County on Wednesday, which sparked immediate backlash from one of the agency's leaders in Southern California.
"Agendas in Schools? After being invited to a career fair @ Coachella Valley High, the principal told our recruiter to leave - no explanation given," Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino based in El Centro, Calif., said on the social media platform X. "Students depend on leadership promoting an environment of learning and creativity, not agenda driven edicts."
A day later, the school district said in a statement the denial was inadvertent and that those involved would face discipline.
"We want to make it very clear that we do not condone this behavior, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken with the involved staff members to ensure this does not happen again," the statement said. "Our students have greatly appreciated the valuable interactions and insights they have gained from learning about careers in Law Enforcement and the Border Patrol."
Read more: 'I don't feel safe anywhere.' California moves to aid undocumented students as fears surge
Coachella Valley Unified's student body is predominantly Latino with many migrant students and the incident occurred as the Trump administration has promised to carry out mass deportations of people without proper documentation across the country and the mere presence of agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stoked fears among immigrant communities.
Many cheered on Bovino's post questioning the district's motives. He posted an update Thursday after the district apologized.
"We accept & thank the Coachella Valley Unified School District for the apology. We look forward to continuing our relationship with them for the benefit of our youth & students," he said.
Others, however, cheered on the staff who denied the officer's entry.
"We like a principal who helps their students! Grow a back bone and advocate for the community you serve," one person wrote in the comments to the district's statement on Facebook.
The district's statement concluded that it would welcome the border patrol at future fairs.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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