Photo courtesy of Advocates for Basic Legal Equality
By Alisha Durosier
Students and residents alike erupted in protests this past week in response to a two-day recruitment event hosted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in St. Petersburg and Tampa. Protestors were not only speaking out against the agency’s visit but also against the federal immigration crackdown taking place nationwide.
Recruitment events event occurred in both cities on Jan. 13 and 14, which local organizers quickly countered with planned protests.
Information about the event in Tampa was posted to the University of South Florida Center for Career and Professional Development website and the job platform, Handshake. And though the event did not take place on campus, the posts prompted mass disapproval among USF students.
In a joint Instagram post, USF St. Petersburg and Tampa College Democrats made it plain: “ICE GET THE F*CK OFF OUR CAMPUS.”
That same Instagram post is how a USF St. Petersburg environmental policy junior, who preferred to remain anonymous, found out about the event.
“It feels like a slap in the face to minority students on campus,” he told The Crow’s Nest.
The USF chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society made a similar Instagram post, announcing a date and time of a planned protest on Jan. 13, where they demanded USF cut ties with ICE.
Last year, The Crow’s Nest reported that USF signed the 287(g) agreement, a federal program that allows ICE to partner with local law enforcement — though ICE has yet to sign the agreement.
Protests in St. Petersburg earlier this month hosted by faith leaders in front of the St. Petersburg Police Department demanded that the city’s police department pull out of their agreement, which they signed last February.
With 67 counties, Florida is the only state in where all of its counties have agreed to partner with ICE.
“ICE OFF CAMPUS!” it read. “Sanctuary campus now, no deportations, legalization for all, solidarity with Minneapolis,” also highlighting that the Border Patrol recruitment event comes just a week after 37-year-old American citizen Renee Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis.
Though they are both under the Department of Homeland Security, U.S Customs and Border Patrol and ICE are two distinct agencies.
Border Patrol typically operates within 100 miles of the U.S.’s immediate borders and airports. ICE operates within the country, far from the immediate border and is mostly responsible for enforcing removal orders.
Still, students believe their reaction is justified.
“Since there have been so many reports of abuse of power within border patrol and ICE, seeing USF allow this behavior and recruitment on campus fosters an unsafe and untrustworthy view of the school in my mind,” USF St. Petersburg graphic arts senior Morgan Nieman told The Crow’s Nest.
The environmental science and policy junior agrees.
“That’s twinnem,” he said, interlocking his pointer and middle finger, representing the relationship between Border Patrol and ICE.
“It’s not like they work independently,” he said. “And it’s not like their goals aren’t the same thing.”
As the federal immigration crackdown progresses, the lines between border patrol and ICE are blurring; Border Patrol agents are being utilized within the U.S. borders and becoming more involved in the enforcement tactics used by ICE.
A USF St. Petersburg freshman, who also preferred to remain anonymous, said it felt uncomfortable being in proximity to border patrol.
“Their strategies and their claims, I don’t think they’re backed up by anything. I just don’t agree with the violence and the death that it’s causing. I don’t think it’s necessary. It’s just really sad to see,” she said.
Nieman also said that promoting recruitment to college students feels intentional.
“…We are still easily influenceable and looking for our place in the world. ICE or Border Patrol can use this vulnerability of instability in life and career to recruit students,” she said.
The environmental policy junior said it’s comparable to military recruitment on high school campuses.
“And this is a way that they can reliably make money,” he said. “And they take advantage of that. And that sucks.”
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Written by: Alisha Durosier on January 15, 2026.
Last revised by: Julia Ferrara