Eyes on ICE 👀- Action Alert, February 9, 2026

beachesactivistmov
24 hours ago
4 min read

In Our Backyard: Eyes on ICE

As Congress grapples this week with guardrails for ICE in the face of another looming government shutdown, BAM is turning its attention to immigration enforcement activities in our own backyard. Join us on Thursday night (February 12th) as we hear from Andrea Reyes, Esq, local immigration attorney and co-founder of the NEF Immigration Resource Alliance. Since opening her legal practice in 2014, Reyes has dedicated her career to family-based immigration, humanitarian relief, and deportation defense. RSVP today to learn more about the current landscape in Jacksonville and how we can protect immigrant rights. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Adele Grage Community Center in Atlantic Beach.

RSVP FOR BAM MEETING

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the temporary funding of the Department of Homeland Security as the GOP balks at DEM demands to rein in immigration enforcement by ICE. Without an agreement, the government shuts down again on February 13th. We have to keep up the pressure and demand that any proposed funding bill includes ironclad policy accountability measures, and doesn't add one penny more to ICE’s already bloated budget.

Call FL Rep John Rutherford and Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody and demand that they insist on real limits and accountability for ICE before any funding is approved --- 5 Calls makes it easy to reach them. Follow up with this Indivisible email.
Urge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to stand strong and not give up their leverage. Sixty-two percent of Americans think ICE has gone too far. This is the Democrats' chance to insist that continued funding of DHS MUST include Congressional guardrails to compel ICE to operate lawfully. Failure to do this would be an abject betrayal of their duty. A strong majority of Americans say enough is enough!
Join organizers in Minnesota and national partners to pressure corporations to stand up to ICE. Click to send letters to Target, Delta Airlines, Enterprise, Hilton, and Home Depot.
Light up the nation by placing an LED candle in your window as a quiet act of solidarity
protesting the dangerous and cruel actions of the Trump administration.
Sign up for BAM's Immigrant Action Group. We'll alert you to local advocacy opportunities as we watchdog local law enforcement's collaboration agreements with ICE in our community.
Email us if you are interested in getting more information about local efforts to organize legal observers to monitor immigration enforcement activities through the ACLU RAISE initiative.

FL Legislature, Congress Threaten Voting Rights

Amid calls by President Trump to "federalize elections," both the FL Legislature and U.S. Congress are threatening to pass laws creating new barriers to voter registration.

In the state legislature, SB 1334 on elections cleared its first committee last week in a party-line vote. The measure, and its companion in the House (HB 991) are opposed by voting rights groups, including the FL League of Women Voters. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers in Congress last week launched a renewed push to pass the SAVE Act, introducing two new bills that advance its “show your papers” requirement for voter registration. Efforts to pass this act failed previously after widespread public opposition. Act now and urge state legislators and members of Congress to oppose these anti-voting bills.

Tell FL Rep John Rutherford and FL Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody to protect voting rights and oppose the SAVE Act by using this letter by the Brennan Center.
Urge FL Senator Clay Yarborough and Rep. Kiyan Michael to oppose SB 1334/HB 991. Click on this link for FLWV talking points. Instead, tell them to support the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act for 2026 (HB 1419/SB 1598) and protect voting rights in Florida.

More from Tally: Anti-Vax & Terrorism

In its unending effort to reinforce and one-up the dangerous policies of the Trump administration, the FL Legislature is advancing several bills that threaten public health and would serve to intimidate dissenting groups. These bills deserve your attention this week:

Florida Medical Freedom Bill (SB 1756): Filed by our own state Senator Clay Yarborough, the bill would prohibit state health officers from mandating vaccines during public health emergencies, expand religious and conscience-based vaccine exemptions for school entry, and require new parental acknowledgment forms before minors receive vaccines. It would also allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a prescription. The anti-vax bill is moving forward despite an alarming rise in measles cases in the state. Florida has the fourth-highest number of measles cases among states so far in 2026, with 21 confirmed cases, compared to 29 total cases in 2025. HB 917 is the companion bill in the House.
Statewide Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Unit (HB 945/CB 1712): This bill allows the state to conduct counterintelligence and counterterrorism activities "to detect, identify, neutralize, and exploit adversary intelligence entities, international and domestic terrorists, insider threats, corporate threats, and other foreign adversaries." Whoa. According to Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, the bill effectively “weaponizes state agencies to basically pick their political enemies and to leverage every act of the state to go after that entity, even if there is no evidence of material support for terrorism.” The bill has already passed two of four committees in the House assigned to review it.

Contact state Senator Yarborough and state Rep Kiyan Michael and share your opposition to both of these proposals. Suggest they pay attention to the issues that matter to Floridians: affordability, property insurance, and access to health care, rather than further weakening public health and free speech in the state.

Protesting for Mom

This sign from last Saturday's protest at the Beaches Library really tugged at our hearts. What better way to honor Mom's memory than to show up and speak out. We hate bullies too!

Join the Neptune Beach Coalition, BAM, 50501 NEF, and lots of kindred spirits next Saturday at 10 a.m.!

RSVP and get more info here.