Tampa celebrates Dia De Los Muertos to honor those killed by ICE

Tampa, FL – On a Sunday evening, November 1, activists with the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee held a Dia de los Muertos celebration to honor the people killed by ICE and commit to the fight for those currently in detention and living under ICE terror.

The event was attended by about a dozen people, as well as more who passed by and joined in. Organizers set up an ofrenda with the names of those ICE has killed, as well as chalkboards to allow for folks to write in the names of those they would like to honor, which included recently-passed Community Service Organization and United Farm Worker organizer Dolores Huerta.

The mood was somber and defiant as speakers connected the holiday with Tampa’s collaboration with ICE in the form of the 287(g) agreement, which allows local law enforcement to act as immigration enforcement and notify ICE when an undocumented person is arrested. The Tampa Police Department has signed on to this agreement since 2025 and has taken at least $430,000 to train their officers for immigration enforcement.

Tampa IRC member Nico Baisley stated, “We’re here to remember the dead and fight for the living. We’re here to remember the people who died in the horrid, inhuman conditions inside for-profit detention centers. People like Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias, a green card holder from Mexico, with several pre-existing medical conditions, who was found dead in the Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo.”

Lizette Chavez, daughter of Adelaido Chavez, the Seffner man arrested and brutalized by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies before being handed over to ICE and taken to Baker Correctional Institute, spoke about the horrible conditions there before her father was released.

Chavez stated, “No AC during hot summer months, where it almost reached 100 degrees at times. My father dealt with a lack of hygiene related items, like bars of soap, simply to be able to shower.” Chavez also emphasized the need to continue organizing for people who are still detained.

The event raised demands for ICE to get out of Tampa, for Tampa to end its collaboration with ICE, and for justice for those killed by ICE, CPB and DHS. Several attendees spoke later with the organizers about getting more involved in the fight.

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #DiaDeLosMuertos