Teacher Threatens Undocumented Immigrant Students: UNLV Instructor George Buch Declares 'No Safe Spaces In My Classes'

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas launched an investigation this week into an instructor who claimed on Facebook that he'd turn in undocumented immigrant students to federal law enforcement. School representatives told the Las Vegas Sun in a statement Thursday they were "looking into" part-time math teacher George Buch amid backlash from staff and students at the university, which in 2015 was ranked the second most diverse campus in the United States.

Buch's views went viral Thursday after a student at the university shared two Facebook screenshots of a discussion he was having with another user. Buch began by defending the term "illegal aliens" and criticizing people who come to the U.S. unlawfully because of the difficulty of legal immigration in some countries.

"I've never won Powerball," he wrote. "Doesn't mean I get to rob a bank because others have millions."

The second screenshot displayed another part of the two users' conversation. Buch, responding to a post offscreen, wrote "and then I would have to turn you into ICE :)," using an acronym for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "No safe spaces in my classes :)," he added.

Buch may have been referring to a recent push within higher education to designate institutions as "sanctuary campuses," where administrators vow to protect undocumented immigrants against potential actions by President-elect Donald Trump. Trump has vowed to reverse President Barack Obama's executive actions aimed at protecting immigrants — including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which relieves the risk of deportation for youth and allows many college students to access in-state tuition and driver's licenses.

Various organizations, including the undergraduate student government, immediately released statements condemning Buch's post.

"We can’t take these issues lightly any more, that’s how we got here," student Caitlyn Caruso told the Las Vegas Review Journal. "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."

Buch apologized Thursday in a statement obtained by the UNLV Rebel Yell, saying he intended the comments to be a joke and was sorry they offended people. "I have never, nor will I ever, create a classroom of hate or intolerance," he added.