Anti-ICE Protests Spread to Florida
What’s Really Going On?
This weekend’s anti-ICE protests that erupted in Los Angeles have now spread to Florida — with crowds gathering in Tampa, Tallahassee, and beyond. In Los Angeles, enforcement actions sparked violent scenes: rioters blocked freeways, hurled objects at officers, vandalized, set cars ablaze, and waved Mexican flags. Reportedly, around 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have since been deployed by President Trump to restore order.
The unrest crossed state lines when Florida activists, organized by groups like Occupy Florida, 50501, Resistance Support, and Voices of Florida, announced a “rapid response” protest at Tampa City Hall. Their rallying cry? “NO MORE ICE RAIDS” and the assertion that “communities are terrorized.” Yet they left out a critical detail: ICE’s recent roundups included violent criminals — including convicted murderers — and had made 1,120 criminal alien arrests statewide in April alone.
From breast-beating solidarity to street action, these groups staged protests in multiple Florida cities: Tampa’s Courthouse Square saw thousands chanting “Abolish ICE,” while Tampa’s DHS/ICE facility drew an encampment by Occupy ICE . Meanwhile, in the state capital, “honks” backed up protests against immigration enforcement.
Even on university campuses, the momentum grew — a demo at the University of South Florida called out ICE for detaining student protesters and demanded an end to U.S. aid to Israel.
- Breitbart News emphasizes that anti-ICE actions often ignore the criminal backgrounds of those arrested — framing the enforcement operations purely as political, not public-safety driven.
- The Daily Caller points out that liberal groups are calling ICE raids “terrorizing communities,” sidestepping the fact that these operations are targeting violent convicted criminals.
- These protests are part of a broader national backlash against stronger immigration enforcement under President Trump — including the deployment of military resources like the National Guard and Marines.
- Conservative voices argue that the demonstrations lack transparency, avoid acknowledging the criminal profiles of many who were taken into custody, and fuel chaos nationwide.
