Florida State University is home to over 2,500 international students from more than 130 countries, alongside thousands of students from immigrant backgrounds. Despite this vibrant diversity, FSU has placed these students at risk by aligning with ICE and the Trump administration's anti-immigrant agenda.

A 287(g) agreement is a partnership between local law enforcement agencies and ICE that grants local police officers the authority to perform federal immigration enforcement functions. ICE has rapidly expanded this program during the second Trump administration, securing over 2,631 agreements across 38 states, with Florida leading the nation in total agreements signed.

On February 18, 2026, FSU Chief of Police Jason Trumbower signed a 287(g) agreement, officially integrating the FSU Police Department into the program. Under this "Task Force Model," FSUPD officers perform immigration enforcement under the supervision of ICE agents. The agreement authorizes officers to interrogate anyone believed to be undocumented, detain individuals without a warrant based on suspected status violations, and hold non-citizens in custody. It also mandates data sharing with ICE and extends federal-level immunity from lawsuits to FSUPD officers.

This agreement poses a direct threat to the entire FSU community. It empowers FSUPD officers to engage in racial profiling against non-white and foreign-language-speaking students (a practice upheld by the Supreme Court), turning a department meant to protect students into a potential danger to their safety. Consequently, students may refrain from reporting crimes or seeking police assistance out of fear that doing so could trigger immigration enforcement against themselves or their peers.

This threat is amplified by the presence of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras across FSU's campus. According to the Atlas of Surveillance, FSUPD operates approximately 15 AI-powered ALPR cameras that maintain continuous surveillance. This technology remains in active use by FSUPD despite bans and condemnations from the City of Tallahassee Commission, the Tallahassee Police Department, the Leon County Sheriff's Office, and even Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who called state usage "out of control" while warning of an emerging "surveillance state." Because ICE frequently accesses nationwide databases maintained by ALPR companies like Flock and Axon, the data-sharing mandates in FSUPD's 287(g) agreement could effectively funnel campus surveillance data directly into federal immigration databases.

FSU has further codified its compliance with state and federal anti-immigrant agendas by shutting down the FSU College of Law's Immigrant Rights and Farmworkers Clinic, where law students provided free legal assistance while gaining vital practice skills. This action followed state-level funding restrictions under Governor DeSantis, even as other law schools maintained similar programs through private funding.

For these reasons, we demand the establishment of a Sanctuary Campus at Florida State University and urge FSUPD and university administration to:

1. Rescind the 287(g) agreement and terminate all active cooperation with federal immigration agencies.
2. Protect international students exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly, ensuring no protest-related information is shared with officials in ways that could jeopardize visa status.
3. Ensure students facing arrest, detention, or deportation proceedings retain access to online coursework to complete their degrees (consolidating items 4 and 7).
4. Notify students and staff immediately if ICE officials enter university property.
5. Cease the operation of all ALPR cameras on campus, terminate active contracts with ALPR vendors, and pledge not to enter into future surveillance agreements. 
6. Reinstate the FSU College of Law’s Immigrant Rights Clinic.