This story was updated at 6:58pm on Aug 27 with a statement from a UNF spokesperson to clarify the number of officers receiving training.
The University of North Florida Police Chief confirmed Wednesday that two university officers are receiving online Immigration and Customs Enforcement training.
On July 14, UNF President Moez Limayem sent a university wide email notifying the campus of the finalized ICE agreement.
“At this time, none of UNF’s University Police Department (UPD) officers have been trained by ICE, and no training has been scheduled. UPD continues to conduct business as usual,” Limayem said in the email last month.
Spinnaker reached out Wednesday to UPD Chief Frank Mackesy following a Jacksonville Students for a Democratic Society protest where a student claimed there had been ICE trainings on campus over the summer. Mackesy confirmed in an email, “The trainings are online and ongoing.”
Chief Mackesy also confirmed in his email that there has been no ICE activity on campus and no officers have been certified in immigration enforcement yet. Spinnaker is working to clarify when the training began and when Mackesy expects an officer may be certified.
“UNF has had no ICE activity on our campus and we do not have any certified ICE officers,” Mackesy wrote in his email.
UNF and almost all other Florida public universities entered into ICE agreements following a Gov. DeSantis directive in February.
“Two UNFPD officers are currently enrolled in online training with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, per a state directive to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with ICE. However, no officers have been certified by ICE at this time. UPD continues to conduct business on campus as usual,” said a university spokesperson. They also said the training had not started when the email was sent on July 14.
At the protest outside the Thomas G. Carpenter Library Wednesday, Lorelai Dodge, vice president of Jacksonville SDS expressed concern about the university’s ICE agreement and transparency.
“People need to realize the admin is not on our side,” Dodge said.
This is a breaking news story. Stay with Spinnaker as we continue to bring you updates.
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