The arrival of an agent with the Department of Homeland Security on campus and ensuing social media posts led to confusion and cancelled classes Wednesday at Cal State Fullerton.
The DHS agent with a K9 showed up Wednesday morning near Yorba Linda Boulevard and Associated Roads on the campus in northern Orange County. Word of the agent’s presence at a time when federal agencies are aggressively enforcing the Trump Administration’s immigration policies spread through social media posts, and some professors cancelled classes.
“I know it did cause a scare,” said student Logan Layton. “I have seen a lot of it online. Both the school reposting, and the students. I know a lot of teachers also canceled class for the incident.”
In a news release issued later Wednesday, the university’s police department said the agent and dog were part of the DHS’s explosives detection K9 team. The dog and handler were on campus for routine training and not “to enforce action or an investigation.” DHS explosives detection teams, including specially trained dogs that can detect potential threats, conduct searches for a range of explosives materials and often assist federal, state and local law enforcement partners.
The statement went on to say Cal State Fullerton has established a point of contact specifically related to immigration matters through its Risk Management and Compliance Office.
“We urge you to contact this office to verify information before taking action based solely upon social media postings,” the statement continued.
It was not immediately clear how many classes were cancelled this week at Cal State Fullerton. The decisions were made by individual staff members.
The general campus has remained open.
“That’s kind of iffy, just with everything that’s happening,” said student Mia Kingcade. “I wouldn’t feel safe as a student.
“I’m just worried about other students.”
Last week, four more student visas were revoked at Cal State Fullerton. That brings the total number of students with revoked visas on the campus to least eight, according to the Daily Titan.
Several people with ties to American universities have seen their visas revoked or been stopped from entering the U.S. after they were accused of attending demonstrations or publicly expressing support for Palestinians. Two of the more high-profile cases involve a Turkish Tufts University student detained by immigration authorities in Louisiana and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil.
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