Protestors gathered on a street corner across from USF to denounce any university affiliation with the agency. ORACLE PHOTO/ZACHARIAH JOSEPH

USF students and alumni gathered with signs at the corner of Fletcher Avenue and USF Palm Drive to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement involvement at the university on Tuesday.

The Tampa Bay chapter of Students for a Democratic Society organized the event in response to the announcement of an ICE recruiting event through USF’s career management system, Handshake.

USF spokesperson Althea Johnson said that although the announcement was made through Handshake, the university was simply sharing information about the recruiting event.

Johnson said the ICE recruitment event, scheduled for Jan. 13 and 14, was not affiliated with the university and didn’t take place at USF.

“Sharing information about these events does not constitute university sponsorship or endorsement of the event,” Johnson said.

Still, about 50 attendees — including USF students, alumni and residents from the area — gathered from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m to call for the university to cut all ties with ICE.

Last March, USF’s University Police Chief Chris Daniel signed a contract with ICE to allow UP officers to enroll in the 287(g) task force model agreement. 

The 287(g) agreement is a federal program that allows ICE to partner with state and local law enforcement so officers can help enforce federal immigration laws.

ICE has not yet signed the contract with USF, and no timeframe has been provided for when it will do so.

Related: USF Faculty Senate opposes UP, ICE partnership 

Vicki Tong, a USF alumna who majored in psychology and graduated in December 2024, said she attended the protest to demand that USF cuts all ties with ICE. 

Tong said she was a member of SDS before she graduated.

USF revoked SDS’s status as a student organization in 2024 after the group organized protests in support of Palestine on campus. 

In October 2025, SDS filed a lawsuit against the university for violating the group’s free speech and civil rights.Tong said the protest also aimed to stand in solidarity with immigrant communities nationwide, including those in Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the death of Renee Good.

Good, 37, was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent on Jan. 7 while driving in Minneapolis, Michigan, according to the Associated Press. 

“We’re here to say no deportations, and legalization for everybody,” Tong said. “USF has international students, and allowing ICE on campus without issuing a statement condemning it creates fear.”

In fall 2025, USF was home to 4,756 international students from 140 countries, representing 9.5% of the student body, according to USF World.

Related: USF faces lawsuit from student group over protest sanctions 

Connor Peltier, a sophomore cellular biology major, said he stopped by to show his opposition to ICE.

“I wanted my presence to show that people are listening,” Peltier said. “What ICE is doing across American cities is dangerous, especially with recent deaths that never should have happened.”

Peltier said the protest’s goal was local change, not national attention.

“This is about the people who live on your street,” he said. “ICE does not make immigrant students feel safe [and] the university needs to listen.”

Carmen Simmons, a junior health sciences major, said the protest “resonated” with her because of her international student friends.

“Many of my friends feel unsafe leaving their apartments,” Simmons said. “USF allowing ICE anywhere near campus is disheartening.”

Simmons said she hopes university leaders will reflect on USF’s diversity and make USF a sanctuary school.

A sanctuary school is an educational institution that does not have the legal authority or resources to engage in federal immigration enforcement and thus limits cooperation with such agencies, according to Immigrants Rising.

Simmons said she hopes the protest will prompt university leaders and the broader community to recognize that diversity should remain a core value at USF.

“From the multiple languages displayed on the steps of the Marshall Student Center to the programs built to support international students, the university should honor that commitment,” Simmons said.

Diane Rose, a Tampa resident and USF alumna, said she attended the protest to show her support for students. 

Rose said she was “disheartened and upset” by the “forceful deportations” being carried out across the U.S.“I wish that we could do what needs to be done as a country,” Rose said. 

Still, Rose said seeing students protest ICE gave her hope for active change within the community — a catalyst for widespread change.

“That’s where the future is,” Rose said. “Change doesn’t happen immediately, but protests bring awareness, and that’s how progress starts.”