University of North Florida students foil Customs and Border Protection recruitment effort
Jacksonville, FL– On Tuesday, January 20, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) quietly set up a recruitment table on the University of North Florida campus. Shortly after, a member of Jacksonville Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) reported the table’s presence, and the group quickly organized an emergency protest.
SDS mobilized to the area where CBP was tabling, staging a demonstration with anti-ICE signs and distributing immigrant rights information to passing students.
Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, the university responded with force, dispatching several police officers to defend the table. These intimidation tactics didn’t work, however, as students continued for hours to cheer on the protesters and shame the CBP officers.
The protest ultimately rendered CBP’s recruitment effort ineffective, as it drew a wave of support for the students and discouraged most people from visiting the CBP table. By the time the CBP team left campus, SDS had attracted more new recruits than they had, and they learned the hard way that ICE and their partners in crime are not welcome at UNF.
UNF’s decision to allow CBP to table on campus came in the immediate wake of the murder of Renee Good. At the same time, campus police continue a clandestine cooperation with ICE through the 287(g) agreement. Despite university administration making it clear where they stand, the wave of support for this emergency protest showed UNF students are ready to fight ICE activity on campus.