FIU Students and Staff Protest 287(g) Agreement with ICE

By Candela Maceda

Yesterday, students and staff from Florida International University gathered at the Graham Center Lawns to protest the university police department's involvement in the 287(g) program. "No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here" was one of the various chants made by the protesters.

The 287(g) agreement was signed by the FIU Police Department in July 2025. The agreement allows trained members of the FIU police department to collaborate with ICE and perform certain federal immigration enforcement functions. Following the agreement, students and faculty began protesting on multiple occasions and shared their concerns on social media.

The FIU police department stated that they signed the agreement to facilitate collaboration in case ICE presents itself on campus. President Jeanette Nuñez and Police Chief Casas declared that FIU would be in control instead of being a passive victim in the event of an immigrant detention on campus.

The protest was organized by the FIU Young Social Democrats of Américas club and the ICE Off FIU coalition, also known as "Ice Breakers." Around forty protesters gathered, holding signs, some of which read "No ICE on campus", "Paws off our students", and a giant poster with the image of the university's mascot, Roary, with the initials "FU".

Protesters consider that the agreement is not beneficial for the university and that students and faculty members would be at risk of being detained due to racial profiling. Malenie Mahmoodie, Communications Director of "Ice Breakers" at FIU, was one of the speakers at the protest. She said, "The 287(g) agreement has been proven by studies to increase the use of racial profiling. On top of that, racial profiling, according to a recent Supreme Court decision, is legal, so ICE can legally use racial profiling as a tactic to identify and target people they suspect are undocumented."

To conclude the protest, the group marched to the FIU police department to deliver a letter with petitions, requesting that the 287(g) agreement be rescinded and that FIU be designated as a sanctuary campus.