More public safety agencies in Central Florida are signing agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That list is growing and expanding to public colleges including the University of Central Florida, the largest university in Florida and one of the largest in the United States. In February, Governor Ron DeSantis directed Florida law enforcement to enter an agreement with ICE under 287(g), which authorizes state officers to be trained to perform immigration enforcement duties. The governor said this will lead to more efficient deportations, create safer communities, and position Florida to work with the Trump administration on combating illegal immigration.
Orlando immigration attorney navigates policy changes with students
When it comes to the implications of the 287(g) agreement between UCF and ICE, which allows local law enforcement to act as ICE agents on campus, Orlando immigration attorney Nayef Mubarak has some concerns, especially when it comes to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System called SEVIS. That’s the web-based system ICE uses to track foreign students studying in the United States. Some students are having their SEVIS records suddenly revoked, which essentially means their student VISA allowing them to travel here legally is being canceled. Mubarak is working with college students in Orlando trying to keep up with rapidly changing immigration policies.
“287(g) in conjunction with this SEVIS revocation is scary and dangerous because SEVIS can make multiple mistakes, or if it's automated, then there might be a mistake as to why revocation occurred,” Mubarak says. “Are these people going to miss out on graduation because of an error and because of the quickness of which they can be put into proceedings or detained?”
Mubarak advises those students to carry proof of their status and seek counsel if approached by law enforcement.
Student petition demands end to agreement
Marcus Polzer with the University of Central Florida chapter of Students for a Democratic Society is among the group of students at UCF who created a petition demanding an end to ICE’s collaboration with the university police department.
“UCF has a very large immigrant and international student community here, and simply put, this is opening the door and showing that they're not willing to defend vulnerable students,” he says of the 287(g) agreement.
In addition to reversing the 207(g) agreement, the petition asks the university to provide know your rights training and resources for affected students. You can read the full petition here.
Florida faculty union reaction
University faculty are also navigating the implications of the 287(g) agreement. UCF Associate History Professor Robert Cassanello is a member of the United Faculty of Florida labor union that represents staff in the state’s public higher education system. He says he’s troubled by the agreement.
“I do hear from recently naturalized professors and professors who have work visas and things like this, and they're scared,” he says.
Cassanello says many lawmakers in Washington D.C. and Tallahassee think they can target university faculty and students, and people must come together to oppose those policies.
“It's going to take people outside of the university. It's going to take the public. It's going to take voters in upcoming elections to say enough is enough, and band together and remove these people from office who are infringing upon our rights as citizens of this country,” he says.
UCF statement
When we reached out to the UCF communications department to request a voice from university leadership about the 287(g) agreement, we received the following written response from Courtney Gilmartin, Assistant Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Communications:
We’re not doing interviews on this topic. From our perspective, we are a public university that receives state and federal funding and are therefore obligated to comply with all state and federal laws.
