About 60 people gathered along Northwest 13th Street in Gainesville on Friday afternoon to protest Florida Highway Patrol’s agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Waving a large upside-down U.S. flag and signs reading “FHP = ICE” and “We sing in witness,” the group earned honks from passersby as they sang, chanted and passed around petitions in the 85-degree heat.
The protest was part of a statewide “day of action” calling on the FHP to end its 287(g) agreement, which lets the agency deputize troopers to identify, process and detain undocumented immigrants. FHP first entered the agreement in February 2025 at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“People shouldn’t be criminalized by where they come from, the color of their skin or for anything,” said protest attendee Sergio Witis.
Witis, a 46-year-old mental health counselor, pointed at the group by the road, which had broken into song, clapping and swaying to the beat. The protest, he said, showed the “beauty” of immigrants and people from different backgrounds making up the U.S.
Friday’s event took place 15 minutes north of UF's main campus, directly outside the station for FHP’s local branch, Troop B.
By choosing a location outside the agency, organizers hoped to bring greater attention to the enactment of ICE deportation policies through state troopers, said organizer Jay Kalogiros-Pepper.
“FHP is basically the mask that ICE uses in the state of Florida,” he said.
Kalogiros-Pepper, a 19-year-old UF wildlife ecology and conservation sophomore, is a member of the newly formed group Solidarity @ UF, which organized the event alongside a slate of other progressive organizations.
Like other campus activists, Kalogiros-Pepper has been involved in protests against the University Police Department’s own 287(g) agreement. But today’s event, he said, aimed to bridge the gap between on- and off-campus organizing. He pointed out FHP’s significant contributions to ICE detainments since signing the agreement with the agency.
From Aug. 1, 2025 to April 3, FHP has stopped over 7,500 people suspected of being in the country illegally, according to a state dashboard tracking immigration encounters and arrests.
Although the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office has also signed a 287(g) agreement, the local agency has made far fewer stops — just 38 people over the same period.
Elaine Golman, a 75-year-old part-time employee for an energy company, said she found out about Friday’s event through word of mouth. She came out to support her community and educate the community about the ICE agreement.
“We’re all humans,” she said. “We should love each other.”
The crowd reflected a mix of ages, with some protesters silver-haired and other, much younger ones toddling around in circles a safe distance from the road. Spots of cloud cover offered temporary relief from the sun, which attendees came prepared to face with neck fans and water bottles.
Giovanni Cornejo, a 24-year-old UF computer engineering student, said he’s noticed increased fear among the student immigrant community since local agencies began signing ICE agreements.
While tabling on campus, the Solidarity @ UF member said, he’s noticed students sometimes refuse to sign petitions for fear of risking deportation.
“There’s this sense of less trust in local law enforcement because of it that wasn’t there beforehand,” he said of the 287(g).
Contact Zoey Thomas at zthomas@alligator.org. Follow her on X @ZoeyThomas39.
Zoey Thomas is a UF media production senior and the Spring 2026 editor-in-chief of The Alligator. She has previously been data editor and engagement managing editor, as well as a reporter for three semesters. She was also a intern at the Orlando Sentinel. In her sparse free time, Zoey enjoys reading a good book, going for a run or waking up her roommates with the sound of her espresso machine.
