JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A coalition of local advocacy groups plans peaceful protests on Tuesday and Wednesday outside a Department of Homeland Security recruiting expo at the Prime F. Osborne III Convention Center, organizers said.
The demonstration is scheduled for June 16-17 from 8:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 1000 Water St. The DHS career expo runs the same days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, according to a DHS flyer for the event.
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Organizers, led by Indivisible JAX Riverside and joined by groups including Beaches Activist Movement, Indivisible Mandarin, Indivisible St. John’s County, JaxNOW, Take Em Down, the Democratic Women’s Information Network and 50501 Vets, said the protest responds to what they called an aggressive nationwide DHS recruitment push and the rapid expansion of federal law enforcement ranks.
The coalition said it will condemn what it described as the militarization of interior enforcement, accelerated training models and a lack of institutional accountability.
Organizers also raised concerns about alleged racial and language profiling by federal agents and said DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement sometimes entrap or detain people trying to comply with document requests or immigration court dates.
The groups cited data they attributed to TRACE and the American Civil Liberties Union about shootings and custody deaths involving ICE.
The DHS flyer says the department’s essential missions include enforcing immigration laws, securing borders, safeguarding U.S. cyber infrastructure, protecting the nation’s leaders and countering terrorism.
“Our priority is securing the homeland and keeping the American people safe,” the flyer says, adding that DHS operates “by air, land, sea, and cyberspace.”
The flyer invites veterans, transitioning service members, military spouses, students and experienced professionals to attend and explore career opportunities across areas such as law enforcement, cybersecurity, immigration services and logistics.