County Commissioner Discloses Local ICE Activity at “Hands-Off” Protest
County Commissioner Anna Prizzia disclosed to GnvInfo at the “Hands-Off” protest on Saturday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been active in Alachua County.
Prizzia said that she hasn’t heard of any large ICE raids in the county but that she is aware of arrests being made by immigration enforcement.
Prizzia said that ICE recently arrested a Colombian student at the University of Florida (UF).
The full interview between GnvInfo and Prizzia is available below.
Q: What brings you out here today?
Prizzia: The protest today. I’m here to support our community and let our federal government know we’re not happy with the way they’re running things.
Q: Are you connected with any leaders or organizations running this protest?
Prizzia: No, I mean I support Indivisible and the Gainesville Women for Democracy, which are two organizations that helped put this together today. They’ve been doing amazing work in our community, but I wasn’t affiliated with the organizing; I just came out.
Q: Has the [Alachua County] Board of Commissioners made any official statements pertaining to anything the Trump administration has been doing?
Prizzia: No.
Q: Are any of your colleagues joining you today?
Prizzia: I haven’t seen any of them yet, but it’s a really big crowd. We’ve had a great turn out so they could be in there dotted somewhere.
Q: As a politician, do you feel concerned to raise your voice against the Trump administration?
Prizzia: No, I don’t. I feel like we need to stand up for what’s right in our community regardless of our position in society and those of us that have power even more.
Q: What are your thoughts on what the Trump administration has been doing to women’s rights in this country?
Prizzia: I think it’s deplorable. I think they’re setting us back hundreds of years. We’ve worked so hard to get where we are. I think their ideas are really archaic…. They’re not only gonna be problematic but they’re gonna be detrimental to human health and safety.
Q: What are your thoughts on what the Trump administration has been doing to immigrant rights in this country?
Prizzia: The same thing; it’s terrible. I mean, in addition to just the horrific things that are happening to people and the terror they’re creating in the communities. They’re also causing real problems for our economy. So many immigrants are important to the foundation of our economy. So many jobs—they work so hard for us. They’re a fabric of our community.
Q: Have there been any ICE raids in Alachua County?
Prizzia: I have not heard of any full-on ICE raids in Alachua County, but we have heard of several people that have been arrested by ICE and taken.
Q: In the county?
Prizzia: Including at the University of Florida most recently a Colombian student.
Q: On January 31, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office made a statement amid rumors of an ICE raid at Bella Vista Apartments. That statement said, quote, “ICE has informed our sheriff they are conducting targeted immigration enforcement around the state.” And that [it] quote, “focuses on a specific group of aliens that pose [the greatest threats] to homeland security.” What are your thoughts on the Sheriff’s Office’s statement on ICE raids?
Prizzia: I mean, I think that our sheriff has been forced to participate in what’s going on with the way ICE is handling things. I think that ICE isn’t doing a good job of even tracking who they’re arresting. They have civil warrants; they are not booking in papers; they are arresting people without cause, and I think that our Sheriff’s Office is trying to do their best to enforce our laws and what’s going on but they’re kind of being forced to cooperate.
Q: Alright, that’s all I got for you. Thank you, I appreciate it.
Prizzia: No problem, you‘re welcome.
