Jacksonville, FL: Reactionary, anti-immigrant budget amendments defeated

Jacksonville, FL — On September 23, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) called a protest at Jacksonville’s City Hall. They urge people to contact their local city council members to protest Councilman Rory Diamond’s proposed amendments to Mayor Donna Deagan’s proposed budget.

The amendments were dubbed, by Diamond himself, as “big beautiful budget amendments,” in homage to Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”

Diamond’s amendments prevent the budget from funding services for abortion and reproductive health, something that was never included in the budget to begin with. They take away funding for DEI programs, taking away safeguards that prevent discrimination, including against those with disabilities.

Also, the amendments block essential public services from undocumented immigrants and financially punish public services for giving access to undocumented immigrants. This last point was a direct revival of 2025-0138: a measure drafted by Rory Diamond, and vetoed due to the efforts of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance.

The Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance organized the rally at the steps of City Hall, and included speakers from the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, 50501′s Northeast Florida chapter, and Take Em Down Jax. Over 70 were in attendance for the rally, with more people making their voices heard at the public comment portion of the city council meeting. The chambers were overflowing beyond capacity.

“We keep coming out week after week, and we keep coming out and we’re saying, ‘we’re not gonna have it, we’re not gonna take this anymore,’” said Monica Gold of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.

With many community members speaking against Diamond’s budget amendment, the council was overwhelmed. By the time they were able to make a conclusive vote on the budget, it was already about 1 a.m. They voted 10-9 against Diamond’s amendments, thus passing the budget without them. Many members of Jacksonville’s community stayed – waiting for this victory.

Commenting on the win, Maria Garcia of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance said, “This victory belongs to the people of Jacksonville, especially the hard-working members of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance and the coalition of powerful advocates, activists and other residents. I really hope that was a final message to Mr. Diamond and any council member who wants to put forth these types of discriminatory, harmful policies: That our city is not going to be bullied.”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #JIRA