“You’d think that if any place was going to be a safe haven for immigrants, it would be at colleges and universities,” says Peter Dreier, a professor at Occidental College in L.A. proper. “But that doesn’t seem to be the case at Pomona College. They’ve joined in that wave of anti-immigrant hysteria.”

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Pomona is a college, not a greedy corporation. This was not an ICE raid. A federal agency did not prompt this investigation. So why did Pomona check workers’ papers now? The firings come in the midst of workers’ efforts to form a union – an effort Pomona College has opposed.

Take action and send an email to Paul Efron, Chair of the Pomona Board of Trustees and Goldman Sachs Advisory Director.

Your name will be added to a petition calling on the college to allow the dining hall workers to choose to unionize without intimidation from the college.

By Jennifer Medina

CLAREMONT, Calif. — The dining hall workers had been at Pomona College for years, some even decades. For a few, it was the only job they held since moving to United States.

In protest, about 200 students, workers, alumni and community members descended on Frary Dining Hall, demanding the right to come work. When managers refused to let workers work, supporters took the dispute outside the Pomona College President David Oxtoby’s office and picketed in the street.

“We’re here to work,” said Christian Torres, a seven-year Pomona College cook. “What Pomona College has done is wrong and unjust, and we will keep fighting to come back to work.”

The administration’s demand for documentation and subsequent firing of immigrant workers comes as the workers continue efforts to organize a union on a campus.

The demand for documentation was not brought on by a federal agency. Instead, Pomona launched the internal audit itself. Pomona administrators said they properly verify documents at the time of hiring, but claimed some workers had “discrepancies” and wanted documents again.

The unprovoked scrutiny is an about face for the liberal college. College President David Oxtoby used his 2010 commencement speech to endorse the DREAM Act, noting, “this country benefits from the ideas, the skills, and the hard work of those who do or do not bear proper documents; we need to recognize that fact and move toward comprehensive immigration reform.”

Dozens of students and alumni also joined the protest to condemn Pomona College’s actions. “I put all my other responsibility aside this morning to be at the protest today because I’m so enraged by what my alma mater has done to its workers,” said Scott Ratigan, Pomona College ’90. “This is low.”

Now, Pomona College officials are demanding that some dining hall workers, along with some student employees and faculty, present documents authorizing them to work in the United States. And if they don’t produce the documents by Dec. 1, they face termination, college officials say. Pomona College is reverifying work documents even though no federal agency has told them to do so.”

Wednesday, students and dining hall workers held a press conference to decry this unwarranted investigation. Felipa Sanchez has been a cook at Pomona College for 23 years, and told the Los Angeles Times “Why now, after 23 years, are they doing this?”

We’re not sure why the administration chose this moment to announce this immigration investigation, but Gilda Ochoa, Professor of Sociology and Chicana/o Latina/o Studies was quoted in the student paper: “We don’t know intention, but we can look historically about various union busting tactics, and this is precisely one of those tactics. Because of that, it does foster intimidation [and] fear among union people.”

Pomona College faculty passed a resolution criticizing the investigation Wednesday, saying

“We are concerned about the message this review of immigration status sends, particularly its effects on the College climate and our educational mission.”

Pomona College’s Sustainability Action Plan states:

“Pomona’s goal is to serve food on campus that is healthy, fresh and delicious, and that is produced in a just and sustainable manner. The food climate at the College should be one in which food is not simply the fuel that energizes students, but also one that creates an environment of awareness and fosters an understanding about where food comes from, who produces it, how this is achieved, and the implications of the food choices consumers make every day.”

A college community is not sustainable where workers risk being fired and students are escorted out of dining halls by campus security.

Call on Pomona College to repeal its gag rule and to stop the investigation into the work authorization status of Pomona community members.