Tampa Bay activists join nationwide backlash to Minneapolis ICE shooting
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Demonstrators gathered Saturday along Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard in Clearwater to protest ICE. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
Tampa Bay activists joined nationwide calls to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after ICE agents shot and killed a woman last week in Minneapolis.
The big picture: More than 1,000 protests, vigils and other "ICE Out for Good" events broke out across Florida and the U.S. over the weekend following Wednesday's fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old poet and mother.
- Americans have also soured on ICE and support protests against the agency, according to a poll of more than 2,600 U.S. adults conducted the same day as the shooting.
Zoom in: In Tampa Bay, demonstrators gathered from Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater to Sarasota and Polk counties, building on protests last week around the region.
- Around 300 people gathered Saturday on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard near the Clearwater Mall, hoisting signs with messages like "Are we great yet?" and "We all saw the video" and chanting "ICE out for good!"
- "This is amazing — just one day's notice!" Brandt Robinson, a history teacher running in the Democratic primary to oppose Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, yelled to a fellow demonstrator.
Meanwhile, in St. Pete, more than 100 protesters gathered outside the police headquarters, calling for the department to end its agreement with ICE under a program known as 287(g).
- "As long as the St. Petersburg Police Department maintains a signed agreement with ICE ... I can no longer pretend that policing reform is possible," prominent faith leader Rev. Andy Oliver wrote Friday on Facebook in an open letter to city leaders.
- The Allendale United Methodist Church pastor, who made headlines last year protesting the state's removal of a "Black History Matters" street mural, called on police Chief Anthony Holloway to end the agreement.
- Oliver also urged City Council members to formally pressure the chief to do so, adding that several members told him privately that the ICE partnership does "not represent St. Pete's proclaimed values."
What they're saying: "Abolish ICE, end 287(g)," Council vice chair Richie Floyd told Axios. "If there is a legal path to ending it then I 100% support it."
- Council chair Lisset Hanewicz and member Gina Driscoll declined to comment. The remaining Council members and Mayor Ken Welch did not return Axios' requests for comment Friday.
The other side: Holloway told Axios through a spokesperson that his officers assist immigration agents "only when, during the course of a lawful encounter, an individual is identified as a suspect or subject in a criminal investigation."
- He added that the department doesn't receive and isn't seeking funding to support ICE operations and that no officers have received training under the federal program. "Therefore, none has been deputized," he said.
How it works: The 287(g) program enables local law enforcement officers to participate in immigration enforcement, such as by alerting ICE when undocumented people are taken into custody or by serving immigration warrants on them.
- There are several models for the program, and participation varies among local law enforcement agencies. Deputized officers may also work on ICE task forces.
Zoom out: Due to a new state law and pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida has become a hot spot for such agreements.
- However, municipal police departments aren't required to participate.
- Miami's newly appointed city manager said last week that he's evaluating whether his city can pull out of the partnership, per the Miami Herald.