Due to a series of community push-back during commission meetings, the Tallahassee City Commission will move forward with establishing a time limit for public comment.
The time limit comes after a recent history of protestors showing up to meetings in response to the city commissions’ vote to not rescind the 287(g) agreement which would allow ICE to partner with state and local law enforcement to identify and remove illegal immigrants.
The city commission voted 3-2 to limit un-agended public speaker time to 30 minutes. Jack Porter, Jeremy Matlow voted no, Mayor John Daily, Curtis Richardson and Dianne Williams-Cox voted yes; this decision was claimed to help bring back decorum to the city’s commission meetings.
FAMU is listed as a participating agency and FSUPD has been awarded with 287(g) funds since signing the agreement on Sept 26, 2025. These agreement signings have prompted a flurry of anti-ICE movements from student immigration alliance groups.
The agreements between local police and ICE agents have increased tension between law enforcement and civilians after an off-duty ICE agent in Los Angeles fatally shot 43-year-old Keith Porter Jr on New Year’s Eve.
Earlier this year, ICE agents in Minneapolis also took the lives 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good and 37-year-old Alexi Pretti
“It’s a double-edged sword, you know that your movement is effective when they’re resorting to tactics like this to limit you from speaking,” said Aedan Bennett, the press spokesperson for the Tallahassee Immigrants’ Rights Alliance. “Obviously it’s horrible for the city commission to go after our democracy–repress people who are just trying to speak out against ICE being in our community.”
While the restriction was not formally announced, it appeared on the Feb. 18 city commission agenda, the motivation seemingly unclear and the decision is widely unpopular amongst goers of the commission meetings.
The “un-agended speakers” portion of the meeting can go on for hours, each person receives three minutes to say. The 30-minute limit allows only ten sp`eakers total during each meeting. Critics of this decision say that this is another attempt at free speech restrictions.
Tallahassee city commission has previously had free speech restriction concerns prior to the time limitation on public comment.
During a commission meeting on Jan. 16, 2026, a heated dispute began after police officers requested protestors to remove signs from the chamber. Protestors argued for their right to peacefully protest.
“We can go up there and speak and they don’t even have to do what we say,” Bennett said., “So for them to limit us even further and say that we’re not allowed to voice our opinions on ICE in Tallahassee is ridiculous and I think a lot of people share that sentiment.”
