Press conference at Jacksonville City Hall: End ICE collaboration, demand People’s Budget

Jacksonville, FL — On September 22, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance and the Jacksonville Community Action Committee held a press conference outside city hall while, inside, officials worked on approving the 2026-27 city budget. The groups demanded an end to the 287(g) agreement that allows ICE to collaborate with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, as well as a People’s Budget, a budget proposed by JCAC that addresses underfunded areas of Jacksonville and denies the sheriff’s budget increase request.

They argued that the 287(g) agreement will instill more fear in community members and further fund a sheriff’s office that already receives an inflated share of the city’s resources compared with other underserved areas.

At the press conference, a member of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance said, “Two weeks ago, ICE followed a man with legal immigration status home. When he tried to go inside his home, ICE cornered his children, strategically separating them from their father, while calling the man a bad father to his face. Now, since ICE can’t detain him, JSO has him in our jail on charges of child endangerment.” The recorded incident quickly circulated online, causing community outcry for the family affected.

Members of A Mother’s Cry also attended. The organization brings together grieving mothers in Jacksonville whose loved ones lost their lives to JSO. They are demanding a mental health response team to handle mental health crisis calls instead of sending JSO officers, who, they say, often escalate situations and kill community members.

Ms. Melody of A Mother’s Cry said at the press conference, “It was my son. Then it was Asia, and this has got to stop. A Mother’s Cry supports JCAC, and we want a People’s Budget and a mental health response team so that no more of our kids die.”

After the press conference, community members went inside for public comment to the city council and stated their demands to the city council at large. The city council approved a $38 million increase for JSO, bringing its budget to a total of $673.6 million, nearly half of the city’s entire general fund, and left the status of the 287(g) agreement unchanged.

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