Students interested in applying for a job at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency won't find federal recruiters manning a booth Rutgers-Newark's spring career fair.

ICE backed out of appearing at Wednesday's Government and Public Service Career Fair in the campus center after a protest organized by unauthorized immigrant students, Rutgers officials said.

Students from RU Dreamers, a group for unauthorized immigrants and their allies, organized an online "ICE is not welcome here" petition last week calling on Rutgers to withdraw its invitation to the agency to recruit applicants at the fair.

"This is disturbing and unacceptable," said the petition. "Career fairs are intended to promote an inclusive environment for all RU students. This decision would alienate (undocumented) students from access to academic and professional opportunities."

Rutgers officials said they did not withdraw the university's invitation to ICE. Instead, the agency voluntarily withdrew from the career fair after talks with administrators on the Newark campus.

"After conversation with Rutgers-Newark student affairs leadership, the local ICE legal research office concluded that their presence at the career fair at this point would run counter to their goals to recruit students at this event and to the spirit of the event, so they withdrew from participation," said Peter Englot, Rutgers-Newark's senior vice chancellor for public affairs and chief of staff.

We want to thank everyone who signed and showed support! Posted by RU Dreamers on Monday, February 19, 2018

ICE officials did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

Rutgers officials did not say who recruited ICE to appear at the career fair, which is scheduled to include more than 30 employers. ICE was not listed among last year's participants.

Other employers at this year's career fair include the FBI, the Office of Homeland Security, the New York Police Department and the New Jersey State Police.

The RU Dreamers petition called for revoking only ICE's invitation.

"Students with traumatic, personal experiences regarding ICE would be emotionally distressed," the petition said.

Arrests by ICE, which enforces the nation's immigration laws, have dramatically increased since President Donald Trump took office last year. In New Jersey, arrests increased by 42 percent last year, among the biggest jumps in the country.

Rutgers President Robert Barchi has spoken out in support of continuing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program that extends protections to students brought to the country illegally as children.

Barchi stopped short last year of calling Rutgers a "sanctuary campus" for unauthorized immigrant students. However, he said Rutgers will not share the immigration status of students unless required to do so by a court order.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.