Alachua County Commission moves forward with anti-ICE measures, asks School Board to review “underutilized” facilities to address homelessness
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Following the General Public Comment period at the April 28 meeting of the Alachua County Commission, Commissioners made two motions based on requests from the public: one asked staff to move forward with five demands in an anti-ICE petition from Gainesville Immigrant Neighbor Inclusion (GINI), and one asked County staff and the School Board to review “underutilized” facilities to address family homelessness.
GINI requests
During a General Public Comment period that stretched nearly an hour and a half, 14 people, many wearing “Immigrants Belong” shirts, asked Commissioners to adopt a set of anti-ICE measures. At one point, in between speakers, Chair Ken Cornell said, “I’m gonna have to ask — where do I get a shirt?”
Robin Lewy, GINI Initiative Co-Lead, reminded Commissioners that in 2020, the County officially recognized the Human Rights Coalition’s Community ID, and in 2022, the County hired a Language Access Coordinator. Lewy concluded by asking the Commission to “publicly reiterate their commitment to immigrant community members, that they reinforce the residents’ constitutional rights and expectations that immigration enforcement actions will be completed following those rights, and we beg that you communicate well with those organizations that serve immigrants, in order to figure out how to resolve the huge challenges that are impacting the community as of today.”
Chair Ken Cornell responded, “Excellent comment. I remember each one of those items, from 2020 forward.”
Other speakers asked Commissioners to do five things, found in this petition:
- Announce opposition to ICE offices in Gainesville or Alachua County, as was recently done in Orange County;
- Reiterate the Commission’s commitment to immigrant safety and inclusion as outlined in the Gainesville/Alachua Immigrant Neighbor Inclusion (GINI) Blueprint for Immigrant Inclusion;
- Advocate that the Gainesville Police Department continues to serve the best interests of the community, public safety, and their department by not signing onto a 287(g) agreement;
- Speak out against the indiscriminate and destructive arrests of our neighbors, joining the voices of countless community members and even recent critique from DeSantis-appointed sheriffs of Florida’s own State Board of Immigration Enforcement; and
- Develop policies to require that all ICE officials working within the county display identification of their name and federal affiliation and be unmasked—no secret policing.
Family homelessness
Three people asked Commissioners to send a Chair letter to the School Board, asking them to review underutilized School Board facilities to address family homelessness.
Jacob Torner, Vice President at the Task Force For Ending Homelessness, cited local statistics on homeless families and children and asked Commissioners to “direct County staff to conduct a review for underutilization of all County-owned facilities in the Commission’s portfolio, and, additionally, vote to approve a letter from Chair Cornell to the School Board and the Superintendent, requesting three specific things: One, a convening of School District and Continuum of Care leadership to put our heads together and start really addressing this problem and stop talking about it. [Two,] the convening should also [include]… a collaborative review of underutilized School Board facilities… And third, we’re asking, in that letter, [for] identification of coordinated strategies to improve access and educational continuity.”
Chair Ken Cornell responded, “Mr. Torner, thank you. We may have a Chair letter in our future.”
Animal Resources
Four staff members from Animal Resources said they were speaking as private citizens on their own time, but they were wearing County Animal Resources shirts; they spoke in support of Assistant County Manager Gina Peebles and Shelter Supervisor Brittany D’Azzo and raised questions about the allegations made by whistleblowers and volunteers regarding abuse in the County’s animal shelter.
Three people also brought up new concerns about the animal shelter.
Commissioner Anna Prizzia: “It’s really heartbreaking and heart-wrenching every day to sit up here and have to face the decisions that our federal government is making to undermine all of the hard work that we’ve done to show our immigrants how much they mean to us. And you know, really, we’re all immigrants… [W]e all came here, and we took land in order to be here. And so the fact that we’re now… deciding who gets to be legal, and that humanity and personhood should be legal or illegal, to me, is just beyond devastating.”
After General Public Comment ended, Commissioner Anna Prizzia said she supports looking for “solutions to family homelessness and to continue thinking about the ways in which local government can support identifying underutilized spaces for that purpose.”
Prizzia then thanked the people who had spoken against ICE and “all the people who are on the front lines supporting our immigrants every day. This is such a scary time, and our county really does care about our immigrants… It’s really heartbreaking and heart-wrenching every day to sit up here and have to face the decisions that our federal government is making to undermine all of the hard work that we’ve done to show our immigrants how much they mean to us. And you know, really, we’re all immigrants — unless you’re a native person, we’re all immigrants here. We’re all families of immigrants, and we all came here, and we took land in order to be here. And so the fact that we’re now… deciding who gets to be legal, and that humanity and personhood should be legal or illegal, to me, is just beyond devastating.”
First motion
Prizzia made a motion to refer the five demands in GINI’s petition to the County’s attorneys “for developing a resolution to bring back to us at our next regular meeting and to include all points, one through five, that are included on the petition from the Gainesville Immigrant Neighbor Inclusion initiative.” Commissioner Mary Alford seconded the motion.
Cornell said he “wholeheartedly” agreed with the points in the petition: “Immigrants contribute an enormous amount to our local economy, and I know that our Sheriff also agrees with that. And so when this comes back to us, I will look forward to understanding specifically item three and what has been done and what can be done to support our immigrant community.” Item three in GINI’s petition is “Advocate that the Gainesville Police Department continues to serve the best interests of the community, public safety, and their department by not signing onto a 287(g) agreement.”
The motion passed unanimously.
Second motion
Alford made a motion to send a Chair letter to the School Board of Alachua County, “asking for, first, a convening of the school district, Alachua County, and the Continuum of Care leadership to actively address child and family homelessness. Secondly, the convening should also consist of a collaborative review of underutilized School Board facilities, as well as Alachua County facilities, to explore opportunities to better serve families and students that lack stable housing, consistent with the McKinney-Vento Act, and thirdly, to identify coordinated strategies to improve access to services, stability, and educational continuity for impacted students.” Prizzia seconded the motion.
County Manager Michele Lieberman asked Alford to add the City of Gainesville to the motion, and Alford and Prizzia agreed. Cornell also suggested inviting the Children’s Trust Board to a meeting: “I think to have four boards at a meeting is too much, but I think we will invite them.” Prizzia said she hoped the meeting would have a structure that will allow for discussion and brainstorming.
The motion passed unanimously.
Additional comments from Commissioner Wheeler
Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler said she had been working on immigration issues since at least 2011, including “putting together a bill that Representative [Ted] Yoho could take to Washington,” and she plans to get involved with GINI after she leaves the County Commission.
Wheeler also said she has been trying for eight years to get access to some of the housing at Tacachale: “There is housing there; we just need access to the state government to make sure that we keep it in our hands.” She said she had asked the School Board to sell Old Terwilliger to the County, and “they tore it down without any further discussion.”
Moving to the Animal Resources issue, Wheeler said, “It bothers me a lot that we have these epistles that come into us from anonymous folks… I’d like to know who it is that they’re expecting retribution from. Who would they be getting retribution from? I don’t understand who they’re afraid of, you know, if they’re going to quit anyway.”
The Alachua County Commission puts the interests of illegal migrants and continues to act as a beacon to attract homeless people far and wide, instead of the hard-working citizens of this county. It is revolting that they coordinate with far left groups to gaslight people into thinking these “public speakers” are anything other than the sycophants for the commission.
Scapegoat theory holds that individuals and societies tend to attribute personal or social problems to an out-group. This self-serving bias protects the ego or social identity from responsibility, while increasing prejudice toward the group being blamed for feelings of frustration.
The narrative typically begins with the assertion that society has only a fixed quantity of jobs, education, healthcare, and wealth — making immigrants seem like competitors rather than contributors.
We need leadership on the immigration issue not scapegoating…remember Reagan?
On November 6, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) — the most far-reaching changes in immigration law since the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. It’s sometimes called the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, named after its bipartisan sponsors.
Reagan was for LEGAL immigration. The law you cite is one of many that the left seeks to nullify.
Wrong. It dealt with the perceived issues of the day and was unevenly enforced.
Immigration is used as a political tool for political advantage e.g. Donald Trump successfully pressured Republicans to reject a bipartisan 2024 Senate border security bill, aiming to deny President Biden a legislative win and keep border security as a campaign issue. The bill, which included strict asylum restrictions and border funding, was dubbed a “sham” by opponents who argued it did not sufficiently address illegal immigration or align with Trump’s demands.
Immigration is used as a political tool by the left as well.
Trump has closed the border without the need for additional legislation. So there was no need for the Biden bill; it was all window dressing for political cover.
A large section of the left, including leadership of the Biden administration, believes free migration and open access to the welfare state is a basic human right. So there is no immigration law limiting mass migration in any way that the political left will not actively work to nullify the day it gets signed.
Say that, in the face of parents and families, their beautiful children were killed by an illegal alien. Amnesty was granted by Ronald Reagan. Barack Obama was the president who deported the most in this century and, for all we know, in the history of our country. If you are going to talk about political matters, you have to expose both sides. And yes, I support deportation because crossing the borders illegally, far from the designated locations and points of entry, is breaking the law and the sovereignty of our nation. Blame the nations of the illegals, whose governments are full of corruption and want to keep citizens with low or no education to continue perpetuating their power. Shame on you. Just for the information, the rejection of the 2024 was based on how the lawmakers pretended to compromise the well-being of the United States, allowing millions to get on the path to citizenship without the proper scrutiny.
Perhaps two things can be true at once… Scapegoating the (illegal) immigrant is low hanging fruit- and maybe people should consider what’s really going on (and why) with wages and job market decoupling from the industries they serve- but illegal immigration remains a major and easily rectified part of the problem. Having been scape goated does not convey righteousness upon the illegal or make illegal immigration okay by some bizarre transitive property. We have a real problem and this is a major part of it- The selective enforcement and application of laws and standards, wrapped in altruism, for the furtherance of wealth/ power/ clout of our overlords has left us stuck in a grift based economy with class warfare providing the necessary distraction hindering people from actually hitting on the crux of the biscuit in their day to day thinking and discourse. Broadly, the only people who can reliably thrive in this environment are those willing to become the kind of fish that swim in this kind of water.
Let me paint a word picture.
Talk to one of these migrant folks on a job site (or at your local spanish-language-only-knock-off-western-union-wire-transfer-window…) and you will find most are on a prescribed, well established 5 year plan: Come to America, live in conditions no American would choose, work at depressed wages (but with no withholding/ insurance etc), send their treasure back to Honduras or Guatemala or Mexico or Salvador or Colombia and return to have the career/ life that they actually desire.
All the while, the American laborer or tradesman who may be prone to distastefully lunge for the red meat the politicians toss him and display unwarranted (maybe not totally) bigotry to an unwelcome, unassimilated addition to our class warfare apparatus- is stuck. No matter how much austerity he’s willing to endure over the short term, Bubba has no family land in Guatemala he plans to move back to and set up his on fiefdom. Bubba is already home and home is here where everything is expensive and wages are down. The cottage industry surrounding “the 5 year plan” doesn’t work for him. Even if he could get hired on to a construction crew gate-kept by what is effectively a coyote- the one guy on the crew with papers who can “legally” line up work and just pay out the rest of the guys in cash- he’d spend his days earning minimum wage working alongside people who don’t share culture (read: share… melting pot. No one wants to whitewash immigrants but it would be nice to have mutual respect/ shared language when we want to use it, no? But these folks aren’t here to become immersed- they just want to save up enough to move back home- since the opportunity is there and its basically an expected career trajectory these days, who can blame them?!). After a day feeling like a second class citizen among folks who work minimum wage and live 8 to a room at the extended stay motel, Bubba gets home and finishes paying his bills and he has nothing to show for his miserable day. His property taxes will keep going up while his wages are frozen. Work might suck anymore but he’ll be told that his property taxes are only high because his home is valuable (that’s a good thing right?) so he’ll sell and buy a smaller home in a less desirable town/ neighborhood and temporarily some breathing room with some added margin in the ol bank account. Of course, there’s not much to do in his new town besides drink Seagram’s and 7at 2pm at the local dive- but that’s convenient since he eats dinner at noon ever since taking that night shift job pushing trash around with a bulldozer at the landfill.
Meanwhile back at Bubbas old house, some guy named Chaz from an even more expensive metro area- working a 5 year plan of his own- has swooped in and bought Bubbas place. A buddy of Chaz’s at the law office/planning/ lobbying/ developing firm (they do anything as long as it makes money) he works for back in the city said his team just secured a new mixed use permit in a town with some nice large-lot neighborhoods. The buddies wife got her realtors license while she was working from home during covid and has been moonlighting selling these places like hotcakes. Chaz could score a split level Ocala block midcentury ranch house on two and a half acres for next to nothing-in city money- and ever since the firm started requiring employees to only commute to work one day a week, its no problem to live two hours away. Chaz bought it for a song- the realtor mightve been working for bubba but she told Chaz what his bottom dollar was- and has since put in the pool and outdoor kitchen bubba had always wished for. Despite having everything a guy could want at this point, Chaz is a little annoyed because the guy with the old hardware store on the corner that no one even goes to anymore wont sell out to him so his girlfriend can open a succulent terrarium shop that doubles as a community organizing center there (community organizing on Tuesdays. they wont be open Monday cause Mondays suck, Wednesday all the locals run around greeting each other by saying “happy hump day Trump day” so they’ll be closed then too, Thursday and Friday are half days and Saturday and Sunday she’ll be closed for the weekend to recuperate). Chaz almost misses his third wife who he’s divorcing. She was a real go-getter. She still lives back in the city- thankfully they always rented and she makes even more money then him working as social media manager for a powdered meal replacement company so he’s not worried about her taking his money. Plus his current girls dad left her a trust fund so that’s cool. The old guy with the hardware store looks like he’s sold high VOC chemicals for a couple years too long so hopefully he will get sick with something too expensive for Medicare to fix and need cash fast- they’ll get that corner store sooner or later. Life is good.
Our migrant is back in Guatemala at this point and he’s got everything he dreamed of- he renovated an outbuilding into a mechanics shop on his families property and built an addition on the house. Business is booming. He’s actually started bringing in mopeds and old Toyotas and fixing them up and selling or renting them to the folks in town. He even bought a piece of investment property that he might farm and build a new hacienda on someday soon- the cartel has a farm nearby though so he’s waiting to see if that’s really a wise decision. He’s the 3rd richest guy in town. Of course, one of his kids died of cholera while he was in America and his parents just moved in with him because their house mysteriously burned down. Still- if he really needs to he can throw in with the cartel boys and keep a little more of his money and live really comfortably. His parents wouldn’t approve of that though. The town is still falling apart like it was before he left for America- they stopped getting water from their well and have to buy it from the capital. It comes in re-used plastic Dasani bottles. Someone busted the windows in all the cars at the mechanic shop because cars are for capitalists and they’re what made America so evil. (Plus- if you can afford a car the cartel will expect higher protection payment). That’s no problem though- he’ll get rid of the cars, stick to mopeds. Between the scrap value for the cars and selling the acreage he had planned to build a new house on so the cartel can expand their operation he’ll have enough cash to close in his porch so his parents can move off the living room floor. He’s still the 3rd richest guy in town and his son’s old enough to go to America send money back- the second richest guy has no kids so he might even have more money than him soon.
County Commission and the school board are going to FAFO.
Illegal Immigrant’s DO NOT BELONG!
The radical left, including the politicians refuse to separate those here legally, versus those here illegally. Big difference, and NO tax dollars should be used for welfare for any non-citizen immigrants, period.
IF they are here LEGALLY, they should be afforded all provisions of any US citizen. WHEN their being here is a crime, round’em up, send’em back. Put a little hard time in the process to PAY restitution for their actions.
Wonder how many proponents for illegal immigration are offering up their homes to house the illegal immigrants or are they just wanting them here to clean their homes? Inquiring minds want to know.
Good point. I’d bet many of these pretend do-gooders have “underutilized” homes who allow immigrants to enter for cheap “illegal” maid service or roof repair.
You just stole my post🤣 I wonder how many robin lewy has taken into her home feed you given a place to sleep and if the answer is zero then why the hell is she standing up saying the taxpayers need to do it? These people want them here should really prove it each. One of them taken two or three and support them.
Ef…g demonrats, illegal aliens bo NOT belong. They take and they take and they take. They take American jobs, benefits, tax $, housing, medical. I do NOT want to pay for THEM. Illegal aliens broke laws coming into USA illegaly.
This is why normal people disassociate from politics. Why is it so hard to be a moderate? And some wonder why government is so hated.
You got these tranny unicorn loving retard leftist on one hand and the 33 dimension chess promethean action Trump fags on the other hand.
Any elected official who impedes, restricts, or prevents a federal agency from performing the duties and responsibilities associated with that office should be arrested and removed from their position.
Hardcore liberals disgust me but when did actual conservatives start worshiping the federal government like this? You want Trump to have extraordinary powers just like your nemesis boomers wanted Biden to have extraordinary powers a few years ago. This shortsightedness will absolutely ruin the dwindling rights we still have.
I’m all for enforcing immigration but let’s not give the Feds free rein to run shop on everything else. The Feds need way less power, not more!
Invite all homeowners in alachua county who are housing an immigrant family in their own homes to step forward for applause. There’s got to be at least one or two.
An illegal immigrant family
Cornell needs to Grow up.
Instead of asking where he can get one of those shirts.
The shirt is all wrong. It should read: Illegal immigrants are committing a crime — They belong in jail. (Or deported)
Maybe they just didn’t have time to get that many words printed.🤣
Personally, I would like for those wearing the shirts to see how Russia or North Korea would deal with their entering those countries without legal authorization. Lil Kenny should volunteer.
I agree, Immigrants should be welcomed. The illegally here should not. Putting our county in opposition to federal law will not work out well for us.
In this era of budget concerns we (Alachua county) spends an enormous on homeless outreach. To the point where we, sadly, have become a mecca for the homeless. Grace market place is a third world center of crime and drug use. Normal citizens that want to assist are frightened by being mobbed by people demanding assistance. I thought Gainesville had an ordinance about panhandlimng from medians? Doesnt seem to be enforced any longer.
I have spoken about the animal shelter before. After years of managerial experience and the successful owner of a local business (21 years open). I considered putting my name in as shelter director. I do beleive that a strong shelter director with suffcient experience in turning around damaged and broken organizations would do more for our poor suffering shelter than canidates from animal welfare organizations. From the little that has been shared there are significant problems with vendors (allegations mostly), allegations about the sitting shelter director and shelter supervisor. allegations about almost every staff member that deals with the public. There is obviously enormous opportunity to try to remove some of the “bad apples” and foster a more positive workplace. from what I have seen, this is more than half the battle. The overcrowding, facility issues and other non staff issues a director has little impact on. A culture change in the shelter is what we need. From the meeting yesterday it is apparent that staff are fighting and jostling for position. That will only lead to more anonymous letters, poisonous posts and it’s the animals that will suffger.
Robin Lewy is one of the regular dudes at 13th / University that protests everything under the sun. Who pays him?
More trendy TDS. When will they just focus on schools?
What is the difference between being “GINI” and being a sanctuary city? I wonder who paid for those snazzy t-shirts that Cornell is coveting? I wouldn’t be surprised if all 7 city and all 5 county commissioners show up to the next “No Kings” protest wearing them… The inmates are running the asylum here in Alachua County and the City of Gainesville.
The tax money collected on my property that goes to the school board to educate children should not go to “end homelessness”….we have Grace Marketplace that was supposed to do that…what’s the solution? Personal responsibility…if these people want to help them, they can invite them in to their homes…
It’s really heartbreaking and heart-wrenching every day to have to face the decisions that our county & local governments are making to undermine all of the hard work that the state & federal governments have done to stop illegal aliens from entering this county…we are a nation of laws and you need to come here legally.
“LEGAL Immigrants Belong”
There, fixed it for you.
IMMIGRANTS BELONG IN JAIL!
ahh the retards are at it again, there are laws on our books here in the great state of fla requiring compliance of all govt agencies to ASSIST ice, la migra or wtv you choose to call them, this flies in the face of our governors and 90 percent of citizen’s wishes and current regs, so there ya go , gonna lose state funding and federal as well,
Is Alachua County like California? Are these illegal immigrants being registered to vote. Elections are just around the corner. Give then our tax money to secure a vote. We need leaders who can just lead without breaking the law. What a horrible scene for the world to see under the guise of a commission meeting. Take property from school children and the school board to house the homeless crisis that is man made in Gainesville. Why not create facilities for our poor children who are forced into under staffed and under stocked classrooms. Nothing ever for our children who can’t read or do math. Shame on you, Prizzia.
End poverty??? The more you provide for them the MORE you get. They represent a huge portion of our criminal activity and they’ll get more when they keep adding more accommodations. Stop it! FOCUS – on your true responsibilities, the Roads, Safety and educating the children!
‘Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler said she had been working on immigration issues since at least 2011, including “putting together a bill that Representative [Ted] Yoho could take to Washington,” and she plans to get involved with GINI after she leaves the County Commission.’
Nothing subjective here at all, huh? How much will “get involved with” pay if she supports them now?
These delusional, brainwashed psychos do NOT represent the people of Alachua County–I am talking about these paid anti-ICE activists and the swine on the county commission that think they can keep ignoring the will of the people forever.
The people of Alachua County do NOT want to be a sanctuary for homeless people and illegal immigrants. All of our cities and public spaces are being turned into open-air dumpsters and begging stalls. GRACE Marketplace, Block by Block, etc. have all been complete failures.
It is completely apparent that “solving the homeless problem” is just the latest “stop climate change”- or “end world hunger”-style scam. It appeals to the emotional, lazy, over-degreed, and under-educated portion of the population that is incapable of critical thought and unable to recognize a clear scam when they are starting right at it.
The money just goes into a black hole with no objective metrics until finally people get bored and move on to the next scam.
But we have to elect better people to the city and county commission. And we don’t do it, year after year. We can’t even get good people to run anymore…
They got a fresh ICE detainee in the county jail. Why doesn’t lil ken and Prizzia go down and get her out and offer her free room and board at their homes. Lil Kenny can be the new Swalwell and have a Spanish Fang Fang.
She looks like she’s wearing George Washington’s wig.
S (He)….
Illegal immigrants DON”T belong. Ice baby ICE!