By Reanna Fogelman
As of April 16, at least 10 Florida public universities, including the University of Florida (UF) and the University of South Florida (USF), signed or were in the process of signing agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the 287(g) program. Under this agreement, specific local law enforcement officers have the authority to execute specific immigration enforcement tasks, including asking people about their immigration status and, in certain circumstances, making arrests without a warrant.
In 2003, the enforcement and investigative departments of the former U.S. Customs Service were combined with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. ICE’s main jobs are discovering and expelling immigrants lacking permanent legal status, investigating transnational crime, and protecting national security. This has been happening recently in close areas in or towards Tampa, like USF and UF.
UF’s police department, along with hundreds of other agencies, has signed the 287(g) agreement that authorizes local law enforcement to work together with ICE in order to get immigration enforcement training, according to UF spokesperson Steve Orlando.
According to The Oracle, USF’s student newspaper, under the authority of governor of Florida Ron DeSantis, all law enforcement organizations, including university police departments, will be expected to engage in the 287(g) plan. The Oracle said USF’s university police planned to sign the agreement.
“Amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration, Florida law enforcement units have flocked to sign up for a federal immigration program that would deputize local officers to enforce immigration laws,” the article states.
According to The Oracle, “UP Chief Christopher Daniel has already signed a contract with ICE to enroll UP officers in the program, according to an agreement obtained by The Oracle through a public records request.”
Colleen Gagnon, the police evidence, records and communications supervisor at UP, told The Oracle that ICE has not signed the contract yet and a time frame has not been provided for when they will sign.
A large number of USF students are from immigrant communities or families. This impacts the USF community’s trust in law enforcement, causing fear and anxiety and a hostile atmosphere for everyone.
Fifty days into Donald Trump’s second term, he issued enforcement for convicted criminals and immigrants. During Trump’s two terms of presidency, immigration enforcement has always been one of his top priorities. As a way to establish sanctuary areas, Trump wanted all local sheriffs and police departments in the U.S. to collaborate with ICE.
Trump wants the police to support this plan. From this establishment, thousands and thousands of immigrants have been arrested for warrants and criminal charges.
In the first 50 days of the Trump Administration, 32,809 enforcement arrests have been made by ICE. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made 33,242 of these at-large arrests last year.
“As of Tuesday, ICE has officially made more at-large arrests in the first few weeks of President Trump’s presidency than the entire last year under the previous administration,” according to a press release by Homeland Security.
USF and UF campus police partnering with ICE is definitely something I did not expect to happen right now. It isn’t fair to all the families who need to go through this. I think that all humans should be treated equally in our world today, no matter their ethnicity. However, I think that all citizens should have a required green card for the citizenship they received.
Since USF has signed the deal, The University of Tampa could potentially do this. However, the decision relies on UTampa’s university policies and campus safety. In contrast to USF, which is a public institution, UTampa is a private school, which will be a factor in this.
If this happens at UTampa, the community should be furious. The 287(g) program would be going against students’ rights, no matter their immigration status. UTampa is a university that offers a wide range of services that cater to the academic, emotional, physical, and social requirements of all of its students because it is genuinely committed to their well-being. The university should be there to provide all students with a safe environment.
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Photo courtesy of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website.