News and Views from the People's Struggle
Jacksonville, FL — On September 23, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) called a protest at Jacksonville's City Hall. They urge people to contact their local city council members to protest Councilman Rory Diamond's proposed amendments to Mayor Donna Deagan's proposed budget.
The amendments were dubbed, by Diamond himself, as “big beautiful budget amendments,” in homage to Donald Trump's “big beautiful bill.”
Jacksonville, FL – On Saturday, September 20, dozens of cars embarked on a caravan led by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) from Jacksonville to Sanderson in Baker County, Florida. It was a show of public resistance and solidarity with immigrants who are already being detained at a new detention center, disgustingly named by Governor Ron Desantis as “Deportation Depot.” Activists call it the “Baker Cruelty Camp,” or BCC.
Jacksonville, FL – On August 29, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) held a protest against Governor DeSantis's planned concentration camp within the Baker County Correctional Facility. The protest took place within the center of Jacksonville, at the city's own Friendship Fountain.
After JIRA mobilized over 700 people to Camp Blanding on July 19, Governor Ron DeSantis changed the location of the planned detention camp from Camp Blanding to the Baker County Correctional Facility. The site was previously shut down in 2021, with inhumane conditions being one of the cited reasons.
A JIRA speaker called the project the “Baker Cruelty Camp” rather than the “Deportation Depot” as Ron DeSantis has dubbed it, stating, “Let's be clear: people were tortured in this building. Guillermo Serrabi was held in solitary for 88 days – he was assaulted by a guard who ruptured his eardrum, and he was denied medical care. Ana Doe, a survivor of trafficking, was placed in solitary, stripped, restrained and sexually mocked by guards! This is this facility's legacy. This is what DeSantis is reopening!”
The Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance organized the event which drew support from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Students for a Democratic Society, the UPS Teamsters Union, FloridaRising, 50501 Veterans, the Malaya Movement, and the Democratic Socialists of America.
As dozens of protesters gathered atop the hill at Friendship Fountain, Monica Martinez with JIRA said, “This cruelty doesn't just affect those who end up inside its walls. This puts a target on the back of every immigrant in northeast Florida. Right now, ICE is operating indiscriminately – kidnapping and attempting to deport community members regardless of their status, tearing families apart and terrorizing our communities.”
Martinez then talked about a person recently detained within Duval County: Diana Marcela Mieja, owner of a small business within the Springfield area of Jacksonville.
“This is not abstract!” Martinez said. “She was detained by ICE after a mental health crisis. She is a legal resident, a business owner, a beloved member of our community. This is who they are targeting! This is why we fight!”
#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #JIRA #JPSN #JCAC #SDS #FloridaRising #50501 #Teamsters #MalayaMovement
Starke, FL – On July 19, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) called for activists across the state to mobilize to Starke, Florida in order to protest the planned construction of a new concentration camp in Camp Blanding. Over 700 gathered across the street from the gates of the base, along the side of State Road 16.
Jacksonville, FL – Chants of “Drop the charges!” echoed outside the federal courthouse Thursday, June 27, as dozens of protesters stood in solidarity with Alejandro Orellana, a Los Angeles immigrant rights organizer facing politically-motivated federal charges. The powerful demonstration coincided with Orellana's first scheduled court hearing since his June 12 arrest by FBI agents targeting his activism against ICE raids.
“Drop the charges on Alejandro. Stop the FBI witch hunt,” declared one speaker at the rally. “We just wanna be out here fighting for the same things that other people are fighting for.”
Jacksonville, FL – On June 24, Mayor Donna Deegan made the decision to veto the anti-immigrant Ordinance 0138. This decision comes after a months-long campaign by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) that began back in February. Since the ordinance’s inception, local activists, immigrant families, faith leaders and many more provided testimony against this legislation.
Jacksonville, FL – On June 14, an estimated 4000 protesters transformed downtown Jacksonville into a sea of resistance against the Trump administration's escalating attacks on immigrants, free speech and essential government services. The “No Kings Day” demonstration marked one of Northeast Florida's largest mobilizations in recent memory, with participants decrying Trump's policies at the federal level and local Trump style anti-immigrant measures being passed at the city council level.
Jacksonville, FL – Over 100 people gathered in downtown Jacksonville on Monday, June 9, to stand in solidarity with Los Angeles, California and to stand up for immigrant rights. The rally was organized by 50501, Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance and other coalition partners.
Jacksonville FL – On May 28, over 200 community members rallied at Duval County Jail to demand the release of three community members who had been arrested and brutalized while attending a city council public comment meeting the afternoon before.
Many organizers for the rally had been protesting and doing bail support through the night without sleep, including Leah Grady of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), who had been released on bail at 3:30 a.m. that morning and immediately took up work to organize a rally for her comrades to be released.
Jacksonville, FL – Cientos de personas se presentaron en el rincón de Southside y Beach Boulevards, un centro vital de la comunidad inmigrante de Jacksonville, sábado, el 26 de abril, respondiendo la llamada a acción de la Alianza de Derechos de Inmigrantes de Jacksonville (JIRA) y una coalición de organizaciones religiosas y de base.
Jacksonville, FL – Hundreds rallied at the intersection of Southside and Beach Boulevards, a vital hub of Jacksonville’s immigrant community, on Saturday, April 26, heeding the call of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) and a coalition of faith and grassroots organizations.
Jacksonville, FL – On March 25, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) began their week of action in response to the passing of ordinance 2025-0147 by the Jacksonville City Council. This ordinance is designed to support the Trump administration’s terror against immigrants; it allocates the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office $75,000 for more equipment for them to harass people and collaborate with ICE.
Jacksonville, FL – The Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) was founded to advocate for immigrant rights and fight against the capitalist-backed policies that target and criminalize Jacksonville’s immigrant communities.
Since its inception, JIRA has fought to end collaboration between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), halt the use of local jails for ICE detention, and protect undocumented individuals from repression.
Jacksonville, FL – On Sunday, February 9, over 100 people gathered outside Mariscos El Pacifico, a restaurant in a Jacksonville neighborhood with a large immigrant population, to show support and solidarity with the immigrant community.
The protest, organized by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA), brought together a diverse coalition of activists, families, students and labor unionists to demand an end to deportations and the persecution of immigrant neighbors.