Press Release: Press Conference Calling on City Leaders to Cancel “Show-Me-Your-Papers” Policy Organized by GINI

Press Release from the Gainesville Immigrant Neighbor Inclusion Initiative (GINI)

• WHO: GINI, community organizations, faith leaders and Gainesville residents
• WHAT: Press conference to share information on and put out call to end GPD Order 82.4
• WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 21st
• WHERE: 200 E University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601
• WHY: To inform the community and continue the demand for the cancellation of GPD’s new immigrant profiling policy that directly ties our community with ICE, destroys public trust, and makes our community less safe.

GINI is coordinating a press conference to inform the community on findings related to the Gainesville Police Department’s (GPD) recently passed Order 82.4. When the community brought its concerns over the dubbed “Show Me Your Papers” policy to the City Commission in September, City Manager Persons and Assistant Chief Torres provided justifications as to why it was necessary. 

City Manager Persons pointed to Florida Administrative Code Rule 11Q-2.002, titled “DATA COLLECTION”, as the legal requirement for the extensive form all GPD officers are now expected to fill out on anyone they interact with who they suspect may be undocumented. However, as already reported by the Alachua Chronicle, the rule has not been adopted and is therefore not enforceable. Assistant Chief Torres pointed to the language of the order itself as reason for the community to feel secure that victims and witnesses of crime can safely reach out to GPD. Yet, just a few moments later, Major Jaime Kurnick verified that two residents have already been reported - one from a traffic accident and the other from a traffic stop, and later admitted that there are scenarios where a victim of a crime would be reported according to the policy - validating community concerns at the indiscriminate and harmful nature of the new order.

In a legal memo shared with City Commissioners crafted by the Community Justice Project, a legal organization with expertise on Florida’s immigration enforcement, it was stated unequivocally “the City of Gainesville is not required by Florida state law to collect and report data concerning the Gainesville Police Department’s interactions with suspected non-citizens”. The letter also speaks to the policy itself, asserting that “no Florida state statute, final rule, or emergency rule requires the Gainesville Police Department to adopt policies like its recent General Order 82.4”. Exemplifying this fact are the results of several public records requests submitted by GINI to police departments around Florida inquiring on the existence of any similar orders to GPD’s. Sent only to city police departments that also do not have 287(g) agreements in place, all 11 of the departments to have responded as of this press release’s creation do not have any such rule. 

At a time when public trust in law enforcement is so low, when our own local immigrant community members are not comfortable reaching out to law enforcement for assistance, GINI remains steadfast in its demand for our city leaders to rescind GPD’s “Show Me Your Papers” order. 

Press and attendees can expect to receive a copy of the legal memo written by Community Justice Project, the responses to GINI’s public records requests, as well as the results of the GINI Survey which show the lack of trust in local government and fear of law enforcement by our immigrant neighbors.