Students Sue Florida International University for Violating their Right to Protest

MIAMI, FL – A student-led group called ICEBreakers filed a lawsuit today against Florida International University (FIU) for disciplining members for participating in a non-violent, silent demonstration on campus. The group is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Community Justice Project, Reid Levin PLLC, and Slater Legal PLLC.

Earlier this year, the ICEBreakers organized a silent protest challenging FIU’s decision to contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through the 287(g) program and empower campus police to conduct federal immigration enforcement. The protest took place at an on-campus event featuring FIU President Jeanette Nuñez, who has supported the 287(g) agreement and refused to meet with ICEBreakers about it. Several students stood up during the event wearing “ICE OFF FIU” t-shirts, silently stood for a few minutes, and then silently walked out.

After the protest, the university charged seven of the protesters with misconduct under a policy that bans all “expressive activities” indoors on campus, even ones protected by the First Amendment. FIU imposed a written reprimand on the students and is requiring each of them to submit a video expressing compliance with the university’s unconstitutional policy.

ICEBreakers and the seven charged students also filed a preliminary injunction motion today, seeking to block FIU from enforcing the unconstitutional policy against them and other ICEBreakers members while the case proceeds to trial.

“FIU is the first university in the country to volunteer to deputize campus police into ICE agents,” said Max Fondren, president of the ICEBreakers student group. “We are all too aware of the chaos these ICE partnerships have created across communities in South Florida. It makes us feel unsafe, and we have every right to protest it. We will not be silenced or forced into compliance.”

“ICE has no place at any university, especially one that calls itself a haven for international students,” said Andrew Caro, one of the seven charged students, a first-generation college student, and the son of Mexican immigrants. “Inviting federal enforcement on campus goes against everything this university claims to represent—and instead of listening to students’ real concerns about this, they punished us.”

To justify its disciplinary action against the students, FIU cited its blanket ban on “expressive activities” inside university buildings. The lawsuit argues this regulation violates the First Amendment; and in using the regulation to punish the students’ speech, the university also violated their right to free speech, protest, and assembly.

“The Constitution is clear: public universities cannot discipline a student for non-disruptive expression,” said Adam Saper, staff attorney at Community Justice Project. “ICEBreakers’ protest against 287(g) agreements is constitutionally protected—even if the university doesn’t like the message it sends. Using this overly broad regulation against organized students is unlawful censorship and an attempt by the university to silence dissent at a time when our community needs more voices demanding justice.”

In recent years, Florida has systemically sought to censor speech it disfavors on college and university campuses. From the Stop W.O.K.E Act to interfering with university curricula and appointing political allies as administrators, this lawsuit represents the latest challenge to the state government’s overreach into higher education.

“Florida’s colleges and universities are meant to be places for debate, disagreement, and discussion,” said Nicholas Warren, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “The ICEBreakers have every right to express themselves, and FIU cannot turn its campus into a ‘protest-free zone’ through student conduct rules. We’ll see FIU in court.”

The complaint in ICEBreakers v. Nuñez is below.