Tallahassee demands worker and immigrant rights on May Day

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, May 1, at 5:30 p.m., around 40 people attended a May Day rally organized by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The protesters demanded the city of Tallahassee end its attacks on immigrants in the city and denounce the 287(g) agreement with ICE.

These agreements give the police department the power to train their offices to carry out immigration-related tasks as if they were ICE agents. The agreement was put in place by Tallahassee Police Department Chief Lawrence Revell without any input from the people or even other city officials.

Protesters rallied outside the WFSU studio where local city and county commissioners held the 2025 Town Hall. At this event, city and county commissioners were asked about a number of issues people in Tallahassee are interested in. Dozens of questions were submitted on a range of topics including affordable healthcare and bike safety. Attendees of the May Day protest, however, were most interested in how officials would address the 287(g) agreement. As of May 2025, five police departments signed into the agreement in Tallahassee alone, including Florida State University PD.

“If you know FSU and its admin it’s no surprise that they would sign this [287g] agreement. This is an admin that platforms white supremacists, arrests students for speaking out, and does nothing when its student’s visas are revoked,” said Kingsley Early, a member of Students for a Democratic Society. “The problem is getting worse.”

Organizers recognized the revolutionary significance of May Day and its history as an international socialist holiday and discussed the need for a continuation of the fight for the rights of workers and oppressed peoples.

“May Day is an international holiday that should be celebrated, that should be remembered for its significance to the American labor movement,” said Delilah Pierre, president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee. “If it wasn’t for May Day, the eight-hour work day wouldn’t even exist.”

Due to the persistence of organizations like the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA) and FRSO, the issue of the 287(g) agreement in Tallahassee was addressed at the town hall. City Commissioners Dianne Williams-Cox and Curtis Richardson claimed that changing the agreement was out of their control, citing Florida Governor Ron Desantis and the Republican Party as attacking and threatening those who oppose the 287(g) agreement in their own cities.

Organizers from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization made it clear that despite the lip-service from city officials, they would be organizing for May Day next year and would continue the fight to stand up for immigrant rights.

“We’re here honoring the memory of May Day by fighting for workers and immigrant rights in the city of Tallahassee. If we fight, then we win,” said Cas Casanova, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). “We got Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez freed when he was unjustly detained by immigration, and we’ll make sure this city doesn’t allow ICE to terrorize our communities.”

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