UCF Students Turn Memory Mall Into Strike Zone Over ICE Deal

More than 700 University of Central Florida students walked off their normal routines for a one-day strike yesterday, crowding onto Memory Mall to protest the university’s voluntary ICE 287(g) agreement and to push for stronger faculty collective-bargaining terms. Organizers said participants pledged to skip classes, campus jobs, and on-campus spending during a four-hour action meant to show solidarity with faculty and immigrant communities. The outdoor gathering featured tabling, art installations, and donation drives for the student-run Knights Pantry.

The strike was organized by the UCF chapter of the Sunrise Movement and coordinated with the national Students Rise Up campaign. Students told Orlando Weekly that more than 700 people had signed on to the noon-to-4 p.m. action at Memory Mall. Groups with tables at the event included Students for a Democratic Society, the Young Democratic Socialists of America, PoderLatinX, and People Power for Florida.

Students Take Aim At ICE Agreement And Faculty Conditions

At the heart of the protest was a demand that UCF end its voluntary 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which students say would deputize campus officers to carry out certain federal immigration-enforcement duties. Organizers also pressed the university to accept the collective-bargaining demands put forward by the faculty union as part of a broader push on pay and working conditions. Students noted that public-employee strikes are prohibited under state law, pointing to Florida Statutes, which bars strikes by public employees and employee organizations.

University’s ICE Deal And Faculty Backlash

UCF has previously confirmed that it signed a 287(g) agreement with ICE, saying certain campus officers would be selected for training so they can take on immigration-enforcement tasks, as reported by WFTV. The UCF Faculty Senate has formally urged the university to withdraw from the 287(g) memorandum of agreement, arguing that such partnerships undermine trust between campus police and students and ultimately harm campus safety. The Faculty Senate’s resolution explicitly calls for the university to pull out of the agreement.

Statewide Trend To Deputize Campus Police

The UCF action is part of a broader pattern across Florida. AP News has reported that several state universities have moved to partner with ICE under 287(g), a trend critics say expands the role of local law enforcement in federal immigration enforcement and chills trust in campus communities. Organizers at Memory Mall said they hoped the strike would build momentum for a larger May Day action and other coordinated national protests.

Organizers told reporters that university administrators did not respond to their requests for comment on the strike, and UCF was not available to Orlando Weekly on Friday. Students described the gathering as both an educational campaign and a mutual-aid effort, and organizers said they plan to keep up the pressure through continued campus actions and coalition-building in the lead-up to May 1.