Border Patrol exits college job fair after backlash

Unemployed college kids at the University of California-Irvine have no intention of working if it involves enforcing the rule of law.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection pulled out of an Irvine, California, jobs fair at the school on Tuesday after complaints the agency is "insensitive" towards illegal immigrants.

Close to 700 UCI students signed a petition over two days to remove the border patrol from Thursday's fair, the Washington Times reported.

"The undocumented community is directly affected by deportation and detention policies that are carried out by Border Patrol, and having Border Patrol agents on campus is a blatant disregard to undocumented students’ safety and well-being," a petition started Monday on Change.org by student Amy Yu said. "The fact that UCI has invited an agency known for racial profiling, use of force, and unjustified violence is an act of disrespect and insensitivity and ignores the struggles and needs of the undocumented student community on campus."

TRENDING: Capitol authorities on high alert Thursday over 'real inauguration' threat

Yu also called the U.S.-Mexican border, "an arbitrary boundary line that serves to control migration and contributed to the notion of 'illegal' immigration."

Ann Coulter's back, and she's never been better than in "Adios, America!: The Left's Plan to Turn our Country into a Third World Hellhole."

University spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon confirmed the border patrol's decision Wednesday.

"They felt that the opposition to their attendance would be a distraction from their recruitment efforts," Lawhon said in a statement, the newspaper reported.

President Obama visits the University of California-Irvine, June 16, 2014 (Photo: Facebook, UCI)

Rob Petrosyan, president of UCI College Republicans, told conservative website the College Fix it was frustrating to see a job fair politicized.

"If you don’t approve of U.S. Customs, don't apply to work for them, it’s that simple. As for concerns over safety, it’s not like the recruiters will actively be seeking to deport students," Petrosyan told the website Tuesday.

UCI enrolls approximately 31,000 students each year.