Gainesville Immigrant Inclusion Initiative Protests Alachua County School Board and Superintendent After Obtaining Public Records
Immigrant rights advocates organized by the Gainesville Immigrant Inclusion Initiative (GINI) held a protest against the Alachua County School Board (SBAC) and Superintendent Dr. Kamela Patton over their immigration enforcement policy.
The protest came soon after GINI obtained public records, which included emails showing Patton’s involvement with enforcing a policy allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to remove students with a warrant.
GINI’s demands are that ICE officers identify themselves and present a signed judicial warrant before questioning a child or taking them off school grounds. GINI is also demanding that an attorney with Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) review the warrant to verify its authenticity prior to a student’s removal or questioning.
In an interview, GINI core member Ethan Maia de Needell said the SBAC is putting themselves at more, not less, legal risk if they allow authorities to remove minors without a signed and verified judicial warrant.
The protest was initially scheduled to coincide with the SBAC meeting; however, it was canceled. GINI decided to move forward with the protest anyway.
Along with the public records, GINI also obtained a video that appears to show SBAC employees listening to an immigration enforcement training audio that was created using ChatGPT.
SBAC employees listening to an ICE training video
The email records show that on January 26, Patton encouraged employees not to share their political opinions on social media. The move came in response to an individual complaining about a teacher making a Facebook post where she voiced her opinion against changes to federal departments, including ICE. The teacher also criticized United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and participants of the January 6 Capitol Attack.
The records show that on January 28, Patton was forwarded a directive publicly issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on immigration enforcement.
The records show Patton was CCed a message from a parent on February 7 that states there’s a “rumor” that ICE had already been to Gainesville High School and another school.
Patton met with members of GINI in early February, prior to the ICE policy being sent out to faculty. Maia de Needell said it was the one time any leaders from ACPS acknowledged them, and that the meeting did not go well. He said that Patton responded with the affirmative when asked if students could be detained without a warrant.
After the policy was publicized, the Patton and the SBAC heard concerns from faculty and parents. ACPS Communications Director Jackie Johnson drafted a "generic response" for Patton to send back, the records show.
The records show that on February 24, the SBAC was sent a letter from the Florida Education Association Legal Services team advising that a signed judicial warrant is required for immigration officers to remove students.
The records show that on February 26, Delaney sent an email to board members explaining their legal argument for letting immigration officers take students without a warrant.
The records also include a letter sent by an attorney affiliated with GINI explaining their legal argument for why a warrant should be required.
The records show that on March 25, GINI member and Innovation Law Hub Legal Advocacy Director Tess Hellgren sent an email to school board attorney David Delaney that states, “During our conversation, you also asked for follow-up if we become aware of any Florida school districts that are explicitly requiring a warrant for school entry by immigration enforcement. I have been made aware of reporting from Palm Beach County and Polk County that suggests that their procedures require warrants."
The records show Patton was sent an email on February 3 showing Lee County's ICE policy requires a warrant, a week before the ACPS ICE policy was sent to school faculty.
The protest heard from several speakers who condemned the ACPS ICE policy. University of Florida Latin American Studies Professor Rafael Ramirez Solórzano said, “I am alarmed at how the aggressive immigration enforcement policies and intimidation tactics have pressured our local leaders. I am alarmed that our school board members are turning their backs on hardworking families… Our hardworking immigrant families who have contributed to the City of Gainesville. I call shame on them," he said while pointing to the SBAC building.
Rory Goldstein spoke on behalf of the United Church of Gainesville, saying, “Using ChatGPT, our superintendent has been preparing to sell our school children down the deportation river… The idea that the person in charge of our community schools would abandon her duty to protect and care for the most vulnerable members of this community, the children entrusted to her, and the individual school administrations is beyond unimaginable. It is flat out disqualifying for the position of trust you hold… In these times, as the governor of Florida and administration lackeys delight in spreading fear among our immigrant neighbors, we need our public officials, those entrusted with our children, to step up to the moral plate, not to facilitate the snatching of children by an increasingly lawless paramilitary force. How do you wanna be remembered, Superintendent Patton? As someone who took their responsibilities to children seriously, or as one of those cowards who offered them up to masked men who don’t even have to show you identification.”
Maia de Needell encouraged immigrant rights activists to email Patton and members of the SBAC to continue putting pressure on them to change their ICE policy. Maia de Needell said parents should consider contacting their children’s school principals with their concerns as well.
At the conclusion of the protest, Maia de Needell addressed members of the media in a speech, saying, “Please continue to cover this. Ask the questions. Do the research. None of us want to read a story of the worst-case scenario happening in our community.”
