The Gainesville City Commission discussed a resolution responding to the Gainesville Immigrant Neighbor Inclusion Initiative’s anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement proposal on Thursday, but commissioners postponed the decision after 17 people spoke during public comment.
The petition, which was previously brought before the Alachua County Commission in April, asks local governments to publicly oppose ICE operations in Alachua County and Gainesville. It also calls on local governments to keep law enforcement out of 287(g) agreements, a partnership between the state and federal government to carry out immigration operations.
In letters dated June 25, Jacob Torner, the vice president for programs at the TaskForce for Ending Homelessness, said if the city adopts a resolution supporting the petition, it could lead to the city being viewed as “less favorable” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development when awarding grants.
At the meeting, Mayor Harvey Ward said he believes taking action on the petition may lead to “ripples of harm” throughout the community.
“I am unlikely to support any resolution moving forward today because I believe that it will cause harm to individuals in our community,” he said.
Ward also said he believes publicly supporting the petition could invite greater scrutiny and a larger presence of ICE and Florida Highway Patrol personnel in Gainesville.
In February 2025, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an agreement to allow the FHP to receive training to conduct immigration operations. The agency received $13.6 million in federal funding to expand immigration enforcement operations in October 2025.
During public comment, residents, religious leaders and members of GINI urged commissioners to support the petition to protect local immigrant communities. Several speakers said attorneys had reviewed the proposal to ensure it complies with state and federal law and would hold up in court.
The Rev. Rebecca Lawson Putman, a pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, said she would question the commission’s commitment to protecting working families if it does not support the petition.
“Y’all have certainly done good work, but I am reminding the city commission that the immigrants in our city are the working families of our city,” she said. “If you want to deliver for working families, that must include the 20,000 immigrants who call Gainesville home.”
Another speaker, Joan Anderson, a program coordinator for Baker Interfaith Friends, said she regularly visits people held in detention centers in Baker County.
Anderson described overcrowded facilities and deteriorating conditions. She said she recently spoke with a man who was detained by FHP after driving to Tampa from Tallahassee with his father.
“The next thing he knew, he was being taken to a detention center on account of the color of his skin,” she said. “Another man wanted to know if we could help him locate his new truck, which had been left by the side of the road when he was dragged out of it and taken to detention.”
Anderson urged city commissioners to speak out against ICE operations in Gainesville and throughout Florida. They shouldn’t let fear of retaliation from the state influence their decision, she said.
“Dentention is where the American dream becomes a nightmare,” she said. “I’m hopeful today because we have an opportunity here to take a stance.”
Commissioners, including Ed Book, said the city is not afraid of taking a stance on ICE operations but wants to ensure it is still protecting members of the Gainesville community and reducing defunding risks.
“We’re not afraid to take a stand, but sometimes that stand looks different,” Book said.
He said the city must also consider its relationship with federal partners and agencies when deciding to publicly support the resolution. The resolution may also make Gainesville “stand out” to the state and ICE in an unwelcome way, he said.
“I believe that the resolution is extremely well intended,” he said. “Often what happens when you think you’re creating language that unifies, it doesn’t unify the entire community. I don’t think the resolution unifies, nor does it make us a better community.”
The commission will revisit the proposal in the coming weeks. City’s attorney Daniel M. Nee is expected to review the petition before the city’s decision.
The Alachua County Commission is expected to discuss and review the GINI resolution at its Aug. 11 meeting.
Contact Olivia Lofaso at olofaso@alligator.org. Follow her on X @OLofaso77652.
Olivia Lofaso is a third-year journalism student and the Summer 2026 city/county commission reporter. She previously worked as a contributing writer at The Alligator. In her free time she enjoys visiting art museums and solving crosswords.
