News and Views from the People's Struggle
Jacksonville, FL – On September 12, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) led a car caravan toward the immigration camp in Baker, dubbed Baker Cruelty Camp, to protest the torturous conditions those within are subjected to.
30 brave people marched in solidarity, including members of other activist groups, such as the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA).
Jacksonville, FL – On Tuesday, August 8, community members of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) mobilized to Jacksonville City Council to demand the Police and Fire Pension Fund Board of Trustees not reinvest into TEVA Pharmaceuticals and divest its investment portfolios from Israel and Israeli companies.
TEVA Pharmaceuticals is a predatory company that helped fuel the fentanyl crisis, and it functions as an economic and societal pillar of the genocidal, war-mongering state of Israel. Despite the Jacksonville’s Police and Fire Pension Fund (PFPF) being in a 45% underfunded state of crisis, it currently has $200 million invested in Israeli bonds with $2 million invested into TEVA Pharmaceutical junk bonds specifically, one of which is up for renewal on October 1, less than a month away.
Jacksonville, FL – On the evening of September 3, at Memorial Park, dozens gathered for Asia Bennett’s vigil.
The gathering was held in memory of Asia Bennett, 22, who was fatally shot by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Deputies (JSO) on August 11, 2026. Bennett was a victim of domestic violence, and she needed help. JSO instead shot her twice.
Body-worn camera footage was released to the family weeks later. Relatives have since stated that the recording contradicts the official account provided by JSO officials in the days after the incident.
Jacksonville, FL – On September 3, over 20 supporters from around Jacksonville, Florida attended a pro-Venezuela film screening hosted by the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN). Attendees watched The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. The documentary is a firsthand account of the failed 2002 CIA coup attempt against elected Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. It was produced by Irish filmmakers Kim Bartley and Donnacha Ó Briain.
Tampa, FL- On September 1, the Tampa chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally, formally launching a sanctuary campus campaign. The call for a sanctuary campus at USF comes with demands such as “No collaboration with ICE,” “End 287(g) cooperation with ICE,” “Protect immigrant and undocumented students” and “No Customs and Border Patrol at career fairs.”
SDS member Ryan Freymueller spoke, “Immigrant, undocumented and international students are an irreplaceable part of this campus We are here today to tell USF administration that we see our peers, we value them, and we will defend them.”
The energy of the rally matched this sentiment with chants such as “Power to the people, no one is illegal!” and “USF, shame on you, protect your immigrant students too!”
For the University of South Florida, a sanctuary campus means enacting policies that protect undocumented students and staff from immigration and customs enforcement. The Trump administration has prided itself on its violent and aggressive tactics toward immigrant communities by utilizing ICE, police and the National Guard. Additionally, the University of South Florida currently has an active 287(g) agreement, allowing campus police officers to act as ICE agents.
Earlier this year, the Florida Board of Governors voted to ban undocumented students from the state college system. A proposal for the same policy in the state university system was passed this month. Meanwhile, federal law does not prohibit undocumented students from obtaining higher education.
The campaign for a sanctuary campus at USF is also supported by Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee (TIRC). The Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee is part of the national network Legalization for All. The students at the University of South Florida will continue this campaign through the fall semester.
#TampaFL #FL #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #ICE #SanctuaryCampus #UniversityofSouthFlorida
Tallahassee, FL – Attacks on immigrants are not isolated to ICE terror on the streets, but continue into the federal court system. In June, Abraham Flores-Tercero, a husband, father and active community member in Tallahassee from Honduras, faced racist Trump appointed Federal Judge Allen Winsor at an immigration hearing.
Abraham Flores-Tercero was brought into the federal courtroom wearing shackles, dehumanizing him from the second he walked in the door. Abraham, who doesn't speak much English, had to make his plea in Spanish to a translator, who repeatedly interrupted him.
Jacksonville, FL – On Saturday, August 15, community members and leaders of Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) rallied to demand an end to the U.S.-Israeli continued murder of Palestinian journalists.
The event was just five days after the anniversary of the martyrdom of Anas Al-Sharif, an award-winning frontline Palestinian journalist. Al-Sharif was murdered by a targeted airstrike on August 10, 2025, by the Israeli occupation forces.
Tallahassee, FL – On August 17, the Leon County Commission held a public hearing regarding the proposed Historic Harms amendment to the county charter. From the pressure of about a dozen speakers and the presence of dozens more, the commission voted 5-2 to advance the amendment to the November ballot for all county citizens to vote on. Commissioners Brian Welch and Christian Caban voted against the amendment.
The Historic Harms amendment, if passed, would require the county to periodically investigate past county policies and determine what kind of harms were caused to certain geographic areas due to those policies.
The state of Florida’s SB 1134, which would end funding opportunities for programs based on diversity, equity, and inclusion or any programs that even seemed that way, was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis this past April. The original language of the Historic Harms amendment drew concerns from the Charter Review Committee and from the county attorney due to potentially coming into conflict with the new law. The amendment was rewritten to fit within these bounds – the new language looks purely at geographic neighborhoods regardless of the demographics of who was affected in those areas. This approach did get at least a tacit approval from the county attorney and did get voted through by the review committee.
Members of the Tallahassee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (TallyAARPR), the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA), Capital Area Justice Ministry, the League of Women Voters, and Tallahassee ALERT, which wrote the amendment, spoke out in favor on Monday.
“I believe there are many communities in Tallahassee that have been left behind, and this amendment is the first step to really looking at the problems with the city and attempting to rectify them,” said Delilah Pierre with the Tallahassee Alliance.
Brandon Beckett with TIRA said, “I think we need to leave it in the people’s hands to address their futures,” adding, “This amendment is addressing community members that have been left behind through the development of Tallahassee.”
Beckett continued, “It’s their community as well. We need to make sure every member of this community feels respected and doesn't feel as if they’re left behind.”
The amendment will now appear on the ballot in the November elections. State Representative Angie Nixon won an upset victory for the Democratic nomination and will appear on the ballot. As well, there are three Tallahassee city commission seats in the runoff election. The Tallahassee Alliance will spread information about the amendment to educate the public and get people to vote in favor of it.
#TallahasseeFL #FL #PeoplesStruggles #InjusticeSystem #HistoricHarms #OppressedNationalities
Tampa, FL – On August 20, community members spoke at a Tampa City Council meeting demanding they pass an ordinance to end ICE cooperation.
The Tampa Police Department and ICE cooperate based on a federal 287(g) agreement. A 287(g) agreement creates a formal partnership that allows ICE to deputize local law enforcement to carry out the duties of federal immigration enforcement officers.
By Chris Gibson
Melbourne, FL – On Saturday, August 8, over 30 community members from throughout Florida's Space Coast gathered in Melbourn to a protest called by the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance (SCIRA).
Florida contains the highest population of Haitian immigrants of all 50 states, with over 4000 of residing in Brevard County.
Demonstrators gathered in front of the office complex housing the office of Representative Mike Haridopolos, demanding the U.S. government reinstate Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants, a policy recently cancelled by the Trump administration as part of its escalating terror campaign against immigrants.
The protest was attended by activists from groups including Brevard Youth for Democracy, Awake Brevard Action Alliance, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization Orlando, all of whom held signs and chanted facing the busy intersection.
Jack Apostos with Brevard Youth Democracy told the crowd “The fight doesn’t end here today and pick up at the next rally; it is 24/7, seven days a week until we win.”
A member of the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance stated, “Haiti, an island nation founded by formerly enslaved Africans, has never seen a day of peace ever since they declared independence in 1804.” He continued, “There must be an end to 287(g) immediately. We cannot allow this constant cycle of abuse. We cannot allow a felon and his masked thugs to hide behind the police department and other local law enforcement entities.”
Tampa, FL – On Sunday, August 8,about 20 people came out to downtown Tampa to demand that Trump and ICE stop their attacks on Haitian immigrants, after the revocation of Temporary Protected Status.
Jacksonville, FL – On Wednesday, August 5, Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network held their first class in a series of free educational sessions, inspired by the popular education that arose as a form of resistance in the First Intifada.
Approximately 30 community members attended this teach-in to learn about the phases and effects of the First and Second Intifada, and the history of popular education in Palestine, which was necessitated by the closing of schools by Israeli occupying forces.
Tampa, FL – Some 50 people gathered in front of Tampa City Hall, Sunday, July 19, to honor the three lives recently stolen from their families and communities by ICE murderers. The protest was organized by the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee (TampaIRC) as a part of the Legalization for All national week of action.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo from Houston, Texas, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero, from Maine, were gunned down when they were stopped by ICE in their vehicles. ICE claimed both men weaponized their vehicles – the same justification utilized when immigration enforcement killed Renee Good in Minneapolis in January. Videos that surfaced in all three cases contradicted the agency’s account. The other person killed was Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran, a tourist from Mexico, who was hit by a semi-truck as he ran away from ICE in St. Augustine, Florida.