Protest set for a month after Renee Good’s death urges end to Tampa’s 287(g) ICE agreement

Immigrant rights advocates will protest in Tampa on Saturday afternoon, one-month after the death of Renee Good, urging city officials to end a 287(g) agreement with federal immigration enforcement.

The protest, planned for 3 p.m. at the intersection of 56th Street and Fowler Avenue, is the latest in a series of protests across the Tampa Bay region following Good’s death. The 37-year-old American was fatally shot by a federal agent during an immigration operation in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. 

Organizers with the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network said the rally is intended both to honor those killed during federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions and to pressure local officials to take a public stand against immigration policies under President Donald Trump.

“ICE agents in Minneapolis murdered legal observer Renee Nicole Good,” organizers said in a press release. “She died at the scene. While Trump and his administration continue to lie about this event, calling Renee a domestic terrorist, people all around the country have seen the video of her murder and know the truth: that ICE agents are the real agents of terror in America today.”

Organizers are calling for the termination of the city’s voluntary 287(g) agreement, a federal partnership that allows trained Tampa Police Department (TPD) officers to enforce immigration laws and work with ICE. The Tampa Bay Times reported in October that TPD accepted roughly $430,000 in federal funding to train and deputize 18 officers for immigration enforcement duties under the agreement.

Saturday’s action follows a series of demonstrations across the Tampa Bay region. Advocates held an interfaith vigil outside the Pinellas County Justice Center in Clearwater on Jan. 4.

Faith leaders in St. Petersburg staged a vigil on Jan. 9 outside the downtown headquarters of the St. Petersburg Police Department, according to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. On Jan. 13, more than 60 demonstrators disrupted a Customs and Border Protection recruitment event at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park, according to WUSF.

Outcry intensified after the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Pretti, an American ICU nurse who was shot while filming a federal immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis. Days later, on Jan. 29, students at the University of South Florida organized a protest criticizing the university for signing a 287(g) agreement of its own, according to Fight Back! News.

Local protests are unfolding amid broader immigration policy debates in Tallahassee. Lawmakers are weighing a massive immigration package (SB 1380). Another bill (HB 1307) sponsored by Fort Myers Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin and Seminole Republican Rep. Berny Jacques would mandate E-Verify for all private employers and require police to verify the immigration status of individuals involved in traffic accidents.

Meanwhile, Fort Pierce Republican Sen. Erin Grall and Fort Myers Republican Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka are advancing SB 1334 and HB 991, respectively, a high-profile election package that would require proof of U.S. citizenship for all new voter registrations.

The rally also comes amid heightened immigration enforcement statewide. The Governor’s Office recently touted “Operation Tidal Wave,” a multiagency immigration initiative that state officials say has resulted in more than 10,000 arrests over the past eight months.