Protests Oppose Immigration Officer Hiring Fair In Tampa Bay

TAMPA BAY, FL — While U.S. Customs and Border Protection will host an upcoming two-day hiring fair at a St. Petersburg hotel, social media posts have erroneously led some protesters to believe that the event is actually taking place on campus at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

The hiring fair, billed as Tampa Bay CBP Expo 2026 on the agency’s website, will take place at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park, 950 Lake Carillon Drive, on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Available roles the Customs agency is hiring for include air interdiction agent, border patrol agent, criminal investigator, customs and border protection officer, and marine interdiction agent, the CBP listing for the event said.

While the CBP only shares the event’s location with those who registered, a woman working at the front desk when Patch called Hilton Carillon confirmed the fair will be held at the hotel.

Patch has emailed the Hilton Carillon’s general manager, Gregory Rice, about the event. This story will be updated when he responds.

Local activist groups and organizers, including the 50501 movement in Florida, plan to protest outside the hotel during the hiring event, though it’s being framed as a protest against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

“Join us there both days to rally against ICE and Hilton’s support of their continued abuse and violence against our immigrant communities,” 50501 Florida wrote in a social media post.

While ICE and CBP are both under the Department of Homeland Security, they are separate agencies.

The role of ICE, which enforces immigration and customs laws, expanded under President Donald Trump, leading to more aggressive tactics, including immigration raids and sweeps, and partnerships with local law enforcement agencies.

The CBP focuses on border security, covering U.S. ports and international borders, and extends 100 miles inland.

The rallies at the Hilton Carillon recruitment event come on the heels of the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. The deadly shooting, which continues to grab national headlines, drew hundreds to protests against ICE throughout the Tampa Bay area over the weekend.

A border patrol agent also shot and injured two people in Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 8, DHS said. Federal officials claim they have connections with a Venezuelan gang.

A protest is also planned at the USF campus in Tampa at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Fletcher Avenue and Palm Drive, because some activists mistakenly thought the CBP hiring event was taking place at the university.

A screenshot of an event listing on the USF Center for Career & Professional Development was shared widely on social media, leading people to believe that Customs and Border Patrol officials would be on campus.

“On January 13th and 14th, USF will be hosting U.S. Customs and Border Protection at a recruitment fair at the Tampa Campus,” Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society wrote in a social media post. “Join Tampa Bay SDS in a protest to demand ICE off our campus now! As part of our National Week of Action, Tampa Bay SDS demands Sanctuary campus now! No deportations, legalization for all! Solidarity with Minneapolis!”

Patch has reached out to the organization for comment. This article will be updated when the group responds.

“[The event] was never going to be held here [at USF]. It was never connected with the university,” Addye Buckley-Burnell, associate vice president and executive director of the Center for Career & Professional Development, told Patch.

The border patrol recruitment event was posted on the Handshake platform, an app for job seekers that automatically feeds to the USF website, by “an external employer” — presumably CBP — she said.

The hiring fair is no longer listed on the center’s upcoming events calendar.

Since the hiring event was shared on social media, the center has fielded numerous phone calls about it, Buckley-Burnell added.

“There’s a lot of frustration, I think, and most of the people calling seem to be connected to the groups that are mobilizing around it,” she said. “We want people to understand this is a federal agency and their event. There’s a lot of confusion … We don’t want to cause any undo stress or alarm for anyone."