ACLU Sues Florida International for punishing ICE protesters

Florida International University is being sued after punishing students who protested against immigration enforcement, according to a news release from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which filed the lawsuit on the students’ behalf.

In March, the group of seven students wore shirts that read “ICE OFF FIU” to an on-campus event during which FIU President Jeanette Nuñez was speaking. The students, part of a group called ICEBreakers, stood silently for a few minutes and then left the event, according to local media reports. The students were specifically protesting a university contract that allows campus police to conduct federal immigration enforcement, according to the ACLU. 

In the lawsuit, the ACLU argues that FIU’s ban on “expressive activities” inside campus buildings violates the First Amendment. The group says the university violated students’ rights to free speech, protest and assembly by enforcing the policy, charging them with misconduct and requiring them to submit videos agreeing to comply with the policy. The ACLU also filed a motion to block the university from enforcing the policy as the case is pending. 

“Florida’s colleges and universities are meant to be places for debate, disagreement, and discussion,” Nicholas Warren, an ACLU of Florida senior staff attorney, said in the release. “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.”