This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FSU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 4, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (Tally SDS) and the Young Democratic Socialist Association (YDSA) at FSU shared an Instagram post<\/a> detailing the FSU Police Department\u2019s (FSUPD) signing of a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since then, students across campus have petitioned against and protested this agreement.<\/p>\n What is ICE\u2019s 287(g) Program?<\/p>\n 287(g) refers to a section in the Immigration and Nationality Act<\/a> (INA), added by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996<\/a>. This section authorizes ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement.<\/p>\n The 287(g) operates under four models<\/a>. The first, the Jail Enforcement Method, is \u201cdesigned to identify and process removable aliens\u201d that\u2019ve been arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies. Both the second and third, titled the Task Force Model and Tribal Task Force Model, respectively, act as \u201cforce multipliers\u201d for law enforcement agencies to enforce, with ICE oversight, limited immigration authority.<\/p>\n The final, titled the Warrant Service Officer program, authorizes ICE to train, certify, and authorize state and local law enforcement to serve administrative warrants. These differ from judicial warrants, signed by a judge or magistrate, which allow searches and entry into private spaces.<\/p>\n Administrative warrants are issued by federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, and don\u2019t authorize a search. They might, however, authorize seizure or arrest. The National Immigration Law Center<\/a> warns that administrative warrants are being increasingly used as intimidation tactics.<\/p>\n How is FSU Involved?<\/p>\n Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) that sign a 287(g) agreement with ICE are listed as participating or pending agencies, depending on the completion status of their Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). These MOAs are made available on the ICE website.<\/p>\n LEAs interested in entering an agreement must submit a signed Letter of Interest and a signed MOA to an ICE email address listed on their website<\/a>, though their website notes that the MOA process is currently \u201coffline for revisions.\u201d<\/p>\n LEAs that do enter into an agreement with ICE will nominate specific officers to participate in the 287(g) Program. These nominees are then given training \u201cat the expense of ICE\u201d that\u2019s related to the \u201cimmigration duties pertinent to the applicable MOA.\u201d<\/p>\n The Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) is listed as a participating agency as of March 10, 2025. Chief of Police Lawrence E. Revell signed the MOA<\/a> on March 6, 2025, and acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons then signed the agreement into action.<\/p>\n Tallahassee State College (TSC) is listed as a participating agency, with TSC Chief of Police Sean McGovern signing the MOA<\/a> on April 3, 2025, and Lyons signing the agreement into action on April 15, 2025.<\/p>\n Both TSC and TPD are listed as agreeing to the Task Force Model of 287(g). Two days following TSC\u2019s MOA approval, on April 17, 2025, FSU Police Department\u2019s Chief of Police, Jason Trumbower, signed a Task Force Model MOA. This was just before the shooting that took place on campus<\/a>, with the MOA being signed at 11:07 a.m.<\/p>\n This MOA isn\u2019t available on government websites, as FSUPD isn\u2019t currently listed under participating or pending. Instead, this MOA was acquired by Tally SDS and YDSA through an FSUPD public records request.<\/p>\n The Student Body\u2019s Response<\/p>\n Organizations across campus have been protesting FSU\u2019s involvement with ICE. On Jan. 30, YSDA marched to deliver their sanctuary campus petition to FSU administrators. The petition, signed by over 1,000 students, was unable to be delivered to President McCollough.<\/p>\n In a joint statement, Tally SDS and YDSA wrote, \u201cFSU has enjoyed the financial contributions and academic labor of our immigrant and international students for almost the entirety of its enlistment as a university, and they repay their students by inviting a terrorist organization on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n Currently, there\u2019s no public record of ICE signing the finalizing portion of the MOA. \u201cIt\u2019s not signed by ICE, though? It\u2019s good to protest, but what is there to protest? It\u2019s unfinished, and ICE isn\u2019t partnered with FSUPD,\u201d wrote one commenter. FSUPD isn\u2019t currently listed as a pending or participating agency.<\/p>\n Others argue that the signing of this agreement, despite its incompletion, is reason enough. \u201cFSU\u2019s voluntary compliance means ICE can execute the agreement at will and terrorize our peers,\u201d wrote another commenter.<\/p>\n \u201cIn working with ICE, they [Richard McCullough and Jason Trumobwer] are not only condoning ICE terror, but are actively complicit in it,\u201d wrote Tally SDS and YDSA.<\/p>\n On Feb. 5, protesters marched<\/a> from the Integration Statue to FSUPD at Tanner Hall. \u201cMany students showed up to demonstrate their disapproval of the agreement, and FSUPD continued to ignore our voices.\u201d<\/p>\n After thanking those who attended the protest, they then continued, \u201cWe will not stop speaking on this until FSU revokes their signature.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to follow us on Instagram<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, and Pinterest<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t