UNLV instructor under fire after saying he would report students in country illegally

A part-time math instructor at UNLV has embroiled the university in a national immigration debate that was a focus of the presidential campaign and appears to have been reignited across the country in recent days.

In a Facebook conversation Wednesday night, George Buch, a former graduate student and current UNLV instructor, said that he would alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement about students in his class who may have come into the country illegally.

Buch said that there are “no safe spaces in my classes” for such students. “I would have to turn you into ICE,” read Buch’s post during comments made to UNLV student Javier Aget-Torres, who is of Cuban descent.

And then late Thursday, Buch apparently apologized, according to a story on the website of UNLV’s student newspaper. The website quoted a statement from Buch that read in part, “I’m extremely sorry for the comments. I know how hurtful they are to many of you. It was intended to be a joke, although clearly a poor one. I have never, nor will I ever, create a classroom of hate or intolerance.”

Regardless of his motives, Buch’s Facebook remarks created an instant firestorm of reaction Thursday, and were widely denounced by students, professors and several organizations, many of whom also called for him to be reprimanded. However, a local First Amendment lawyer defended Buch’s comments as protected free speech, and Buch has received high marks from students on a widely used professor rating website.

On Thursday afternoon, about 80 people gathered at UNLV for a press conference and again took issue with Buch’s comments.

“We particularly take offense when an instructor who’s supposed to create a positive learning environment actually does the opposite by intimidating and scaring our students,” Francisco Morales, state director for the Center for Community Change Action, said at the press conference.

Similar remarks followed.

“We can’t take these issues lightly anymore, that’s how we got here,” UNLV student Caitlyn Caruso said. “We can’t take discrimination and hate and allow it to thrive on our campus. We have to recognize that this sort of behavior is not new. It’s been happening on campus and we can’t allow it to continue.”

The Review-Journal attempted to contact Buch via social media but was unable to reach him for comment.

Buch did get some support across various social media platforms.

Allen Lichtenstein, a First Amendment lawyer in Las Vegas, said everything he knows about the Facebook exchange was “perfectly within the bounds of free speech.” He added that any attempt to discipline Buch simply for stating his view about turning in someone if he happened to find out that they were committing a crime would be a violation of his rights.

However, Lichenstein said there can be serious legal consequences for Buch and the university, if Buch is actively trying to root out people.

“Students don’t generally go around announcing immigration status in class — it doesn’t come up,” Lichtenstein said. “And you can’t turn somebody in based on profiling.”

Though Buch’s comments stirred controversy, he’s a highly regarded instructor. He had a 4.7 out of 5 rating on RateMyProfessors.com, a teacher review website founded in 1999 that includes anonymous ratings and comments on more than a million professors from more than 7,000 schools.

Though anonymous reviewers on the website began giving Buch negative ratings Thursday as a result of his comments, with 62 reviews as of 7 p.m., Buch still held one of the highest teacher ratings compared with other math instructors at UNLV.

One reviewer, who on July 4 gave Buch the highest possible “5” rating, noted Buch “wants his students to understand the topic and pass the course.” The reviewer also said Buch “will be there for you if you put your effort into it. Funny guy. Love him.”

The Consolidated Students of the University of Nevada (CSUN) said in a statement that it “will not tolerate behaviors that undermine our university community to damage the overall student experience.”

“CSUN will continue to stand by any student that feels subject to a situation where they feel unsafe or uncomfortable, including any statements made by UNLV staff in-person or online,” the statement continued. “We are committed to speaking out against discrimination and hate speech in order to advance the cause of equality for all students.”

UNLV spokesman Tony Allen said school president Len Jessup made his position “quite clear” when he joined hundreds of university presidents across the nation in signing a letter in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and undocumented immigrant students.

DACA, which was established in 2012 through an executive order by President Barack Obama, allows undocumented immigrants to the United States who entered the country before their 16th birthday to receive a work permit and maintain exemption from potential deportation.

On Wednesday, the University of California had stoked the debate further, announcing that it would not assist federal immigration agents in actions against students who came into the country illegally.

The topic also reached the Board of Regents during their meeting on Thursday when CSUN President Carlos Fernandez brought the organization’s concerns to their attention.

Regent Sam Lieberman, a member of the Cultural Diversity and Title IX Compliance Committee, said Buch’s actions are against his personal beliefs of “keeping people actively involved in their community, their society and their nation,” but said he would be willing to have a dialogue with him on the topic.

“I think we are all in a transition period — and it’s a period of upheaval because we don’t know exactly where a lot of things will stand after the new administration takes office,” Lieberman said. “That said, I think we need to protect citizens and those who are seeking a viable pathway to citizenship. One of the best ways to do that is to guarantee them quality higher education — meaningful education that is going to make them attractive and an asset to the workforce.”

Caruso and Sammy Burtch, another UNLV student, took screenshots of the professor’s comments and shared them on social media. Buch’s original post had been shared more than 160 times.

“Professor Buch posted this incendiary comment less than an hour after the Rogers Foundation (a nonprofit education organization) held a press conference to ask all education institutions in Nevada to become ‘sanctuaries’ for students and to protect them against any hostile behavior, like that exemplified by Professor Buch,” read a statement released by Nevada’s Voice.

The original Facebook post was a shared news clip regarding the sanctuary campus work and petition, Caruso said. She believes it has since been deleted.

Barrett Morris, director of UNLV’s Office of Compliance, said his office would investigate complaints of “these allegations of intimidation/discrimination against Professor Buch and will follow up with you when we have appropriately vetted these concerns.”

Review-Journal writer Rachel Crosby contributed to this story. Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3897. Follow @NatalieBruzda on Twitter. Contact Lawren Linehan at llinehan@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0381. Follow @lawrenlinehan on Twitter.