The action happened in the wake of an increase of ICE activity in the area and just days after Juan Jario Carasquillo Durán, a local 28-year-old Mexican immigrant, was struck and killed by a semi truck while crossing a highway fleeing from ICE in Saint Augustine, a city only around 40 minutes away from Jacksonville.

Durán’s death marked the third death in the past week during an ICE interaction, with the second death being Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian father and husband who was shot and killed in front of his wife and daughter in Maine.

Around 100 local activists and community members gathered to demand justice for the victims. Organizations such as the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, and 50501 Vets were among several groups that spoke. Signs held at the rally said, “ICE out of our community,” “Hands off Nadia Topete” and “Florida will melt ICE.”

“We can’t just let a member of our community pass away and not have anything to say about it,” said a member of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, “We can’t just stand by and watch as our other community members for weeks have been terrorized, scared to even leave their own homes to go to their jobs.”

JIRA continues to stand in solidarity with the families of the victims as they fight for justice for their loved ones and advocate for the rights of immigrants in Jacksonville through know your rights initiatives, demanding an end to the cruelty camps, and demanding an end to the 287(g) agreement, which allows local law enforcement to act as ICE.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #JIRA

Jacksonville, FL – On April 4, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) hosted a vigil with approximately 30 people in attendance, at Memorial Park. This vigil is in respect to and mourning for the individuals who have been killed at the hands of ICE, especially those who have been killed within the detention camps that are located throughout the U.S.

This comes after news that this year's detention center deathrates are the highest of the last 20 years. Hand in hand with the Legalization For All Network, JIRA highlighted some of the following deaths in particular: Ruben Ray Martinez, a Chicano who was shot by the Department of Homeland Security; Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a Myanmar refugee who suffered abuse and neglect from Border Patrol; Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, who died of medical neglect while within ICE custody, and Daphy Michel, a Haitian asylum seeker who died of medical complications after being detained by ICE.

“No man should have the power to make the decision of whether you belong based on legal status, let alone a city cop,” said a member of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance. This was said in direct reference to the way these death rates are exacerbated by the establishment of 287(g) agreements, which are legal programs in the U.S. that allow local law enforcement to act in place of ICE. This is something that JIRA says they're fighting to see removed entirely.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #JIRA #ICE

Jacksonville, FL – Over 100 community members in Jacksonville took to the streets on February 7 to demand ICE out of their city. Protesters filled the streets with chants such as, “ICE out of Jax now!” and “No hate! No fear! Immigrants are welcome here!”

This protest comes in the wake of escalations that ICE has enacted on people across the country, as well as news that the Trump administration plans to buy large warehouses to convert into detention facilities like the ones just recently purchased in cities such as San Antonio, Phoenix and Philadelphia.

Speakers condemned the actions ICE has taken against those speaking up for their communities, such as Ya'akub Ira Vijandre, who has been held in ICE detention in Folkston, Georgia since October of 2025 for his pro-Palestine activism.

Speakers echoed words of grief, as they urged the crowd to remember those murdered by ICE, like Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. They also connected their struggles to the struggles that immigrants currently face in this country, reminding us that we are all fighting the same enemy.

Organized by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA), this call to action had local activists from organizations throughout Jacksonville speak in solidarity with JIRA. Organizations who spoke at the rally included the Jacksonville Palestinian Solidarity Network, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, 50501 Veterans, Florida Rising, Democratic Socialists of America, Students for a Democratic Society, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

JIRA organizers ended the rally by urging those in attendance to join an organization if they have not already done so. They also planned more calls to action such as their upcoming event on February 15, which is part of a larger call to action by the Legalization for All network. This event is focused on supporting the VISIBLE act put forth by Florida politicians Angie Nixon and Carlos Guillermo Smith. JIRA also has a general body meeting on February 28 for those interested in joining the organization.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #JIRA #L4A

Jacksonville, FL – Over 1000 people marched through downtown and packed the courtyard outside the federal courthouse here on January 27, demanding justice for Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

The emergency action, called by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA), came after Pretti’s killing on January 24. Speakers connected his death to the killings of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis and Renee Good, and to local immigration enforcement through the 287(g) agreement between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO).

Organizers urged the crowd to turn anger into organization, explicitly calling on people to join JIRA to build power and fight to end the 287(g) pact.

“The same force that murdered Alex is terrorizing our city through 287(g) traffic stops and raids. We are fighting the same enemy,” said JIRA organizer Maria García.

As temperatures dropped during the event, protesters were undeterred and a participant suggested a new chant to the crowd: “We’re not cold, we’re not afraid! Alex taught us to be brave!” It was quickly taken up by the entire assembly as they marched through the streets of downtown Jacksonville.

“I do have family that is undocumented. Both my parents were undocumented. So growing up, I lived in constant fear,” said local participant Crystal Aguilar. “Seeing so many people come out today in support of families like mine is amazing.”

The rally ended with a clear call to action: Unite all who we can to beat back ICE, end the deportations, and dismantle Trump's racist, reactionary agenda.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #KillerICE #JIRA

Nearly a dozen local organizations and chapters of larger activist organizations sponsored the event, speaking in solidarity with JIRA and their demands. Among them include Freedom Road Socialist Organization, National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, DSA, 50501 NEFL and 50501 Veterans, JCAC, JPSN, SDS, and Black Voters Matter.

JIRA and other speakers honored many who have become victims of political repression, such as Ya'akub Ira Vijandre, Mahmoud Khalil, Leqaa Kordia, and Jeanette Vizguerra; or have been murdered by ICE like Keith Porter Jr, Renee Nicole Good, Silveria Villegas Gonzalez, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, and Alex Pretti who was killed that very morning.

In the wake of so many harmed by ICE, whose agents have been sighted in greater frequency in Jacksonville during recent weeks, JIRA punctuated the rally by marching throughout the streets of Jacksonville's city, with chants such as “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “ICE out of Jacksonville now!”

When speaking on the importance of the action, a member of JIRA said, “Countless people for their skin color, their accent, their language, their heritage, their culture, are living in fear; scapegoated by this administration for the crime of who they are.”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #JIRA

Jacksonville, FL – 250 community members held a rapid response emergency action January 8 at the federal courthouse to demand justice for Renee Good, a woman who was murdered by ICE Agent Johnathan Ross.

The rally was organized by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) and drew a diverse crowd. Organizers of the event supported the Legalization For All Network’s demands which include, justice for Renee Good, ICE out of our cities and stop the deportations!

“Renee Good’s life was taken by a system designed to terrorize our communities. We are here to say enough is enough and stand together to protect each other and demand Justice for Renee Good,” said JIRA organizer Maria Garcia.

After the rally concluded, hundreds of people took the streets and chanted “Justice for Renee” and “ICE out of our streets!” JIRA has pledged to continue fighting and plans to have additional actions.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #JIRA #ICE #ReneeGood #KillerCops #KillerICE

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.”

Diamond’s amendments prevent the budget from funding services for abortion and reproductive health, something that was never included in the budget to begin with. They take away funding for DEI programs, taking away safeguards that prevent discrimination, including against those with disabilities.

Also, the amendments block essential public services from undocumented immigrants and financially punish public services for giving access to undocumented immigrants. This last point was a direct revival of 2025-0138: a measure drafted by Rory Diamond, and vetoed due to the efforts of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance.

The Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance organized the rally at the steps of City Hall, and included speakers from the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, 50501's Northeast Florida chapter, and Take Em Down Jax. Over 70 were in attendance for the rally, with more people making their voices heard at the public comment portion of the city council meeting. The chambers were overflowing beyond capacity.

“We keep coming out week after week, and we keep coming out and we're saying, 'we're not gonna have it, we're not gonna take this anymore,'” said Monica Gold of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.

With many community members speaking against Diamond's budget amendment, the council was overwhelmed. By the time they were able to make a conclusive vote on the budget, it was already about 1 a.m. They voted 10-9 against Diamond's amendments, thus passing the budget without them. Many members of Jacksonville's community stayed – waiting for this victory.

Commenting on the win, Maria Garcia of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance said, “This victory belongs to the people of Jacksonville, especially the hard-working members of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance and the coalition of powerful advocates, activists and other residents. I really hope that was a final message to Mr. Diamond and any council member who wants to put forth these types of discriminatory, harmful policies: That our city is not going to be bullied.”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #JIRA

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.

The announcement of BCC came as a desperate pivot from the previously planned Camp Blanding renovations, with the new location repurposing a shuttered correctional facility into a concentration camp only 15 minutes away from the Lake City Airport.

BCC was originally supposed to hold up to around 1300 immigrants, but is looking to expand with collaboration between the state of Florida and the Department of Homeland Security, whose ICE spokesperson says is looking to expand the facility by “2000 beds.”

JIRA organized the rally and caravan in response to the Legalization for All weekend of action call that demanded a stop to racial profiling after the Supreme Court's decision on September 8 to allow ICE to detain people based off their race, what language they speak, and even where they work. The call to action also happened in the chilling wake of the Chicago murder of Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez at the hands of ICE, and news that immigrants were already being detained at BCC as of early September.

In the rally before the caravan, speakers called attention to the organization beginning to form from people detained in facilities like BCC. “These camps, these atrocities, they are not distant concepts on our screen, they’re a quick field trip away” said a JIRA member, “and we hear that those in these camps are showing signs of organizing and fighting for their rights and for their lives under the worst conditions. So there ain’t nothing stopping us from showing our numbers!”

The caravan departed quickly after the rally to make the drive to Sanderson. Dozens of cars decked out in slogans like “Justice for Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez” and “No Baker Cruelty Camp” rolled by the concentration camp’s site around 40 minutes later.

Drivers honked their horns and many chanted from their windows. Maria Garcia, a founding member of JIRA, called through a megaphone at the head of the caravan, making the group's presence loud and clear to immigrants in the camp: “Se ve, se siente, el pueblo esta presente!”

The action was successful in drawing visibility to organizers' efforts to shut down BCC, as well as hopefully empowering immigrants in the camp to continue their fight. But most importantly, the caravan disrupted business as usual by effectively interfering with traffic on a major interstate outside the concentration camp and occupying the resources of the Baker County Sheriff's Department. The county sheriffs have been in collaboration with ICE since 2009 through an intergovernmental service agreement, before signing a 287(g) agreement in 2019.

Looking ahead, JIRA hopes to up the fight against Jacksonville’s own 287(g) agreement which allows immigrants in Jacksonville to be detained to places like BCC, and to continue showing public resistance against all concentration camps in Florida, while uplifting detained immigrants struggle for freedom.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #JIRA #Feature

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.

After the construction of a detention center in the Everglades nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans for the construction of a second one within the military base of Camp Blanding. The site has a history of containing Japanese internment camps during WWII, and the announcement drew much criticism from residents of North Florida.

“Not in our state — not in our name,” has been a slogan chanted since the start of the efforts to oppose the planned construction.

The Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance organized the event and drew support from many organizations, including Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Students for a Democratic Society, Black Voters Matter, FloridaRising, Gainseville’s Indivisible Chapter, 50501 Veterans, the Malaya Movement, the Jax Queer Coalition, Democratic Socialists of America, and the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance.

Support and co-sponsorship came from Jacksonville faith leaders as well, such as the Westminster Presbyterian Church and the Riverside Baptist Church.

“We need to stand here – to fight for those that don’t have the luxury because their families and their children are being snatched from them in the dead of night,” said Reverend Maddie Hilt of the Riverside Baptist Church, who was born and raised close to Camp Blanding.

As hundreds of protesters braved the intense heat, there was a common call for unity and solidarity among the struggles of immigrants in the community with other struggles against the same oppressors.

Xavier Green of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee called out, “They aren’t protecting their borders – they’re protecting a system that has terrorized Black and brown people.”

Recently, Governor Ron DeSantis has slowed down his plans for a new concentration camp to be constructed, however his reasoning has proved inconsistent. He’s gone from citing prudence on choosing which company to contract based on price, to claiming he wishes to use all the space of the detention center in the Everglades first.

“This is not just about Camp Blanding. It’s about all the detention centers that are popping up in Florida; that are being established in our nation. Where we see a bigot president, Donald Trump, and where we see a bigot governor, Ron DeSantis, try to demonize people for simply existing,” stated JIRA organizer and co-founder Monica Martinez.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #JIRA

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.”

The Jacksonville action joined nationwide protests supporting Orellana, a leader with the Chicano community organization Centro CSO who faces up to five years in prison on dubious “conspiracy” charges. His arrest came amid a sweeping FBI crackdown on immigrant rights activists, including last week's aggressive execution of a search warrant on fellow Centro CSO organizer Verita Topete in Los Angeles.

Protesters drew direct connections to Florida's own anti-immigrant climate, where state and local officials have embraced harsh deportation policies. Signs reading “Protesting is not a crime” and “Stop the deportations” filled the courthouse plaza as speakers highlighted how Orellana's case represents a dangerous escalation in criminalizing dissent.

The crowd included a coalition of activist groups, labor organizers, and students who see Orellana's prosecution as a warning shot against all resistance to deportation forces. Many drew parallels to Jacksonville's own struggles against ICE's 287(g) program and recent anti-immigrant ordinances proposed by city council.

“When armed forces come into our restaurants, our court hearings, our streets, our homes, resistance