{"id":171329,"date":"2026-02-27T11:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/171329\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T11:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:28:08","slug":"gulfport-discusses-its-287g-agreement-for-immigration-enforcement-but-is-unlikely-to-withdraw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/171329\/","title":{"rendered":"Gulfport discusses its 287(g) agreement for immigration enforcement, but is unlikely to withdraw"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Gulfport
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGulfport Police Chief Mary Farrand (r) addresses the Mayor and City Council. By Se\u00e1n Kinane\/WMNF News (2026 Feb. 26).<\/p>\n

Some Gulfport residents are concerned about a cooperation agreement the Pinellas County city signed with federal immigration authorities. <\/p>\n

But after a two-and-a-half-hour workshop Thursday night, city council declined to further discuss the 287(g) agreement in a regular meeting.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t sit well with Council Member April Thanos.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s going any further. And I understand that because you don\u2019t want to all of a sudden have people coming after you. And then \u2014 we\u2019re a small city we don\u2019t have a big budget for lawsuits. So I get that. But it also scares me a little. And again it\u2019s after the fact but we should never have signed this,\u201d Thanos told WMNF.<\/p>\n

During the workshop, twenty-three residents of Gulfport or nearby cities shared their thoughts about immigration enforcement and the city\u2019s agreement to assist ICE.<\/p>\n

There was a range of opinions during public comment. But most people, like Lauren Stern, hoped that city council would reconsider cooperating with a federal agency that has a history of violating people\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where Nazi Germany slid, and this is what it looked like, where local jurisdictions, local municipalities just felt like it. It was small local issues. It was, you know, our friendly local police officer, our neighbors. We love our neighbors, right? And then it escalates way beyond something that can be stopped by, you know, any kind of local community,\u201d Stern said.<\/p>\n

Mayor Karen Love said Gulfport is safer than if it hadn\u2019t signed the 287(g) agreement. She suggested that ICE would be more likely to stay away if the city sticks with the deal and that Gulfport Police have a more humane touch than the feds. <\/p>\n

Gulfport Police Chief Mary Farrand said that in the year since the previous chief signed the deal with ICE, the city has processed no migrants under the agreement. <\/p>\n

She says that if ICE did an immigration enforcement action in Gulfport, the city\u2019s police would assist, but they would remain under her command.<\/p>\n

Organizers with the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network<\/a> walked door-to-door in Gulfport last weekend handing out flyers to draw attention to the workshop.<\/p>\n

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