Leo Torres
Gadsden County News Service
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on a construction site near Florida State University on May 29 provoked strong reactions from the community.
Hundreds lined the front of the Capitol building Friday to protest.
The protest was organized by the Tallahassee Immigration Rights Alliance (TIRA), who pleaded with the community on social media to come out in “protesting the arrests of immigrants and workers!” Other advocacy groups, such as Voices Unidos, Tallahassee Food Not Bombs (FNB), and the Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) also participated in the event. As many as 350 people were there, with citizens from
Leon, Gadsden and Jefferson County expressing their dissatisfaction.
Lain Dorsey, a national council representative for Tallahassee SDS, said they were in full support of TIRA’s efforts.
“Immigrant communities, Chicanos, Mexican people, they are being attacked,” Dorsey said. “Right now, they are some of the most vulnerable people in our society because the Trump administration, the DeSantis administration have decided to go full tilt on terrorizing this group of people, so it’s important for people of all backgrounds to come out and stand together.”
Over 100 men were detained during the May 29 raid in one of the largest operations in the history of Florida. The men arrested were from various places, including Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Colombia. Protesters demanded an end to the deportations and pleaded with local law enforcement to end their 287(g) agreements.
In her speech to the protesters, Aracely Cruz, Quincy resident and a representative for Voices Unidos Gadsden, said that families have been torn apart simply for wanting a better life.
“We are here because hardworking people, who plant our food, who care for our children, who build our homes and serve in our businesses are being hunted down like criminals,” Cruz said. “These are not just immigrants or workers. These are our neighbors. These are our friends. These are our family.”
Other speakers utilized the space to criticize the American government, to speak up about the behavior of law enforcement during the raids, to lead chants in support of immigrants, or simply to give a prayer. All encouraged solidarity with undocumented citizens.
Sophomore college student Roberto Mendoza said he came out to the protest to fight for a cause that’s dear to his heart, as he came from an immigrant family and doesn’t want them to live in fear.
“It’s important for us to speak for them simply because we want to be their voices for them,” Mendoza said. “We want to be there for them; we want to let their voices be heard. Their rights to be heard.”
According to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa, the raid was a collaboration between ICE, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Division, the FBI office out of Jacksonville, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) office out of Tampa,
the U.S. Marshals Service and the criminal investigations division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The collaboration is a result of Executive Order 14159, issued by President Donald Trump in January. The decision mandated maximum participation of state and local law enforcement in immigration enforcement. The state of Florida, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, was one of the first to integrate the new measures.
All 67 counties were mandated to participate and sign the 287(g) agreement. The 287(g) agreement is a program under the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows ICE to delegate certain immigration enforcement powers to state and local law enforcement agencies. Though some counties already participated, it has been
expanded by DeSantis to include every county, as well as state agencies such as the FDLE, FWC, and the Florida State Guard.
DeSantis expressed support for the raid on X, with a post that said “State law enforcement making a huge impact on immigration enforcement efforts. Major bust in Tallahassee!”
Robert Lee, representative of Tallahassee FNB, was critical of the collaboration.
“We would like TPD, Leon County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Highway Patrol to end the 287(g) agreement with ICE and essentially take a stand and refuse to work alongside ICE,” Lee said. “We want ICE to stop these raids, to stop the dehumanizing way that they’re talking about and treating immigrants and for Trump administration to pull back their attacks on immigrants.”
Lee pleaded for empathy for undocumented citizens, and said it’s very easy for the media to dehumanize a group if you know nothing about them.
“When you work with someone, when they’re your neighbor, when you’ve helped them do some yard work, when they’ve helped you watch your kids, when you’ve given them a ride to the store- It becomes a lot more difficult to look at someone as this evil person,” Lee said. “You just see their humanity. A lot of the same people like to speak on Christianity and being like Jesus. If you wanna truly be Christian and live by those
morals, welcoming immigrants is one big step.”
Several protesters were personally affected by the raid. Monticello resident Wanda Gabriel said that her brother, Wilber Gabriel, was an electrician on site when agents arrived. Though a citizen, her brother watched several of his co-workers detained.
“My brother lived it, so I thought it was really important to come here and show my support,” Gabriel said. “This was the first time I’ve seen my brother show emotion, so it was really hard for me. He’s always been such a ‘I don’t show my emotions’ type of person. I was able to see it actually really did affect him especially because he was there and he lived it, and he saw it.”
Tallahassee resident Dylan Macilveen had relatives detained at the raid.
“I feel like we weren’t seen,” Macilveen said. “I felt disgusted and hurt and targeted really. We’re not illegals, we’re not here causing problems or criminals. We’re just here to support our families and work hard every day.”
Quincy resident Angel Velasquez expressed sadness at the loss of so many men, as many of them were providers for their families.
“Not even a goodbye, not even the man knowing this is the man’s last time seeing their family possibly,” Velasquez said. “It’s just disappointing to see that because the man is the one that provides.”
Velasquez also expressed outrage at the nature of the raid.
“Why would they hit a construction site knowing what kind of people work in a construction?” Velasquez said. “You’re gonna hit the people that are here to make things work out for their families? They’re just here to provide and to make money, and as a Christian, you should be going towards criminals and gang members, the ones who are affiliated-that have a background.”
Not everyone agreed with the style of protest being promoted. Luis Arreguin sat solemnly on the outskirts of the protest, with a sign that read “Immigrants Are Welcome Here.”
“I think there’s a different way to doing this,” Arreguin said. “I think a silent protest is
more of what we’re doing here.”
Arreguin also encouraged protest organizers to bring in more people that were personally affected by the immigration issues.
“I don’t think more than 75% of the people here have been affected,” Arreguin said. “A lot of people jump on bandwagons and ride it out. If you actually get the people that are hurting and actually know what it means, it’s a lot more quiet.”
Numerous people honked at the protesters to express their support. Though there were a few shouts of dissatisfaction from some vehicles, it was a largely positive reception.
More protests are expected in the future.
Dorsey said a broad movement of people will be needed to fight back.
“He’s not just gonna stop with immigrants,” Dorsey said. “He’s going to attack queer and trans people, he’s attacking the rights of women and reproductive rights, he’s attacking our education. He’s attacking the rights of black people, so on and so forth. Every group you can think of, he’s attacking. So, that’s why it’s important for us to keep coming out here regardless of background to build up a broad united movement against the Trump
administration.”
