{"id":185613,"date":"2026-03-10T13:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/185613\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T13:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:19:09","slug":"leon-county-organizations-tallahassee-residents-gather-for-ice-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/185613\/","title":{"rendered":"Leon County organizations, Tallahassee residents gather for ICE forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Law enforcement, elected officials, and community members came together on March 4 to discuss local immigration policies at Leon County Indivisible’s Just The Facts Immigration Forum<\/a>, held at the Holiday Inn & Suites on Graves Road.<\/p>\n

Leon County Indivisible founder Cheryl Gratt and Tallahassee State College political science professor Edward Duggan organized the event to educate the Tallahassee community on their rights regarding ICE.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are one of the three working Indivisible groups in Tallahassee,\u201d Gratt said to the audience. \u201cWe are the education component.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Panelists<\/p>\n

Panelists gather at the Leon County Indivisible “Just the Facts” Immigration Forum.<\/p>\n

The forum featured a panel of candidates for local offices and advocates from groups including the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA<\/a>), the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Leon County (DECLC<\/a>), Humanitarian Aid of Tallahassee, and others.<\/p>\n

Rambana & Ricci, a law firm focusing on complex immigration policy, was represented by managing partner Elizabeth Ricci. Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil and Undersheriff Ron Cave were featured on the panel.<\/p>\n

They were joined by City Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter, County Commissioner Rick Minor, the spouse of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee, Christina Flores, and Lincoln High School student Mara Stopyak, who organized the school’s ICE walkout<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tallahassee residents get clarification on Leon County’s 287(g) agreement<\/p>\n

The conversation revolved around immigration control in Tallahassee. Topics included the May 2025 College Town ICE raid<\/a> and justifications behind a state grant received<\/a> by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. Most notably, participants sought clarification on whether the Leon County Sheriff’s Office signed the Task Force or Jail Enforcement model of 287(g)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More: FSU students and community speak out against campus police ICE partnership<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the ICE website<\/a>, there are four models of 287(g) partnerships that local law enforcement can elect into. The Task Force Model, which the Leon County Sheriff’s Office has signed<\/a>, allows local officers to enforce immigration law during “routine police duties” under federal oversight.<\/p>\n

At the panel, the TIRA asked why the Leon County Sheriff\u2019s Department signed the Task Force Model<\/a>. McNeil said the agency is instead implementing the Jail Enforcement Model, which is “designed to identify and process ‘removable aliens’ \u2014 with criminal or pending criminal charges \u2014 who are arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies,” according to ICE’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McNeil said that the discrepancy between which model was in effect is the result of a mistake on the ICE website.<\/p>\n

The TIRA and other advocacy groups have criticized<\/a> Leon County’s 287(g) agreement. Multiple college campus police forces, including the Florida State University Police Department<\/a> and Florida A&M University Police Department<\/a>, have signed 287(g) agreements.<\/p>\n

Students for Progressive Victory at Florida State University President Riley Pusins told the FSView that she is concerned about the conflicting information regarding the sheriff’s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that we need to demand transparency there,\u201d Pusins said. \u201cThe fact that someone is coming to [McNeil] with a signed [Task Force] document saying one thing and then he\u2019s saying another, that\u2019s concerning to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Ricci details warrants and legal rights<\/p>\n

Ricci, an FSU adjunct professor of immigration law, provided the forum’s primary educational component. She explained the difference between the two types of warrants used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n

A judicial warrant, signed by a federal judge, is required for officers to enter a home or private space. In contrast, an administrative warrant is signed by an agency official and only allows for arrests in public spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to open the door for an administrative warrant,” Ricci said. “If they enter without consent, you should say aloud that they do not have consent to preserve that for the record.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christina<\/p>\n

Christina Flores speaks about her husband’s detainment at Indivisible panel.<\/p>\n

More: FSU students call for sanctuary campus status<\/a><\/p>\n

Ricci also highlighted the nuances of defining undocumented individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone can be undocumented and have entered the country with permission,\u201d Ricci said at the event. \u201cFor example, an FSU student maybe came in as an F-1 visa holder, they stopped going to classes, they\u2019re undocumented. That\u2019s an undocumented immigrant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ricci encouraged students and residents to support the local immigrant community by partnering with and empowering immigrants, educating others, accompanying affected families to appointments, contacting elected officials to demand policy changes, funding legal support, uniting across differences, and logging witnessed enforcement actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmigration has become a hot topic in Tallahassee with the raid this last May \u2026 I would like to encourage you to know your rights,\u201d Ricci said. \u201cKnowing your rights means knowing the types of warrants that exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocates call for community action on ICE<\/p>\n

Tallahassee resident Flores, whose husband, Abraham Flores, is being held at the Federal Detention Center on Capital Circle, also spoke at the event. Flores expressed frustration with the difficulty of contacting her husband following his arrest by ICE several months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have reviewed the instructions for visitation carefully, we have filled out the forms correctly, and followed corrections, but nothing\u2019s working. After all of these months, I am still waiting for when I can come see him,\u201d Flores told the audience. \u201cThe punishment that I am receiving was also handed down to me and my 9-year-old granddaughter that we are raising together because of \u2026 the ICE detention we have lost our stability \u2026 overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

More: YDSA, other organizations march on FSU campus against ICE agreement<\/a><\/p>\n

DECLC advocate Claudia Sperber followed Christina Flores with a call to action.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can we help? … We can all become stronger advocates, and it will only take a few minutes,\u201d Sperber said during the event. \u201cJust remember this prison is right across from the Lucky Goat Coffee, it\u2019s right in the heart of Tallahassee, and it\u2019s not only her husband. There are many more immigrants \u2026 detained there \u2026 [and] there are steps that we can take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sperber urged audience members to contact Federal Bureau of Prisons executive assistant Pedro Rivera at 850-878-2173, requesting they call on behalf of the Flores family to advocate for visitation rights. The proposed call to action asks Rivera\u2019s office to allow Flores to visit her husband at the Federal Detention Center in Tallahassee.<\/p>\n

Gregory Rusin is a Senior Staff Writer for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU community. Email our staff at contact@fsview.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on FSU News: Local organizations discuss 287(g) and issues surrounding ICE<\/a><\/p>\n