AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A conservative group of University of Texas students said it has canceled a planned "Catch an Illegal Immigrant" contest on the campus.
The Young Conservatives of Texas said the event, planned for Wednesday, was being canceled because members feared reprisals from school officials and were concerned for the safety of volunteers who planned to put on the event, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The group had planned to offer $25 gift cards to students who "found" students wearing illegal immigration stickers and turned them in.
"After the University President and the Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement released statements denouncing the event we planned as violating the university's honor code, I spoke with our chapter's members, and they are both concerned that the university will retaliate against them and that the protest against the event could create a safety issue for our volunteers." the group's president Lorenzo Garcia said in a statement.
Garcia said the nature of the event was "misguided" and that the idea was "intentionally over-the-top in order to get attention for the subject" of illegal immigration.
