3 April 23-29, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ TAMIAMI THIN ICE FIU INVESTIGATES STUDENTS OVER A SILENT PROTEST.BY ALEX DELUCA O n March 13, Florida Interna- tional University’s (FIU) Modesto A. Maidique Campus hosted a “fireside chat” be- tween university president Jeanette Nuñez and retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez. While dozens of students and fac- ulty gathered outside to chant against the university’s partnership with U.S. Immigra- tion and Customs Enforcement (ICE), nearly twenty student protesters took a quieter ap- proach inside. Roughly 40 minutes into the event, as Nu- ñez and Rodriguez spoke, the group stood up inside the auditorium and unzipped their jackets to reveal matching white T-shirts embla- zoned with “ICE OFF FIU” in red lettering, recalls Andrew Caro, a 22-year-old FIU senior. Caro says he and the oth- ers were part of a group called ICEbreakers FIU, which has been rallying against the university’s contro- versial ICE agreement, which essentially deputizes FIU police as immigration officers. “It was a very silent demonstration,” Caro tells New Times. “There were no chants, no boos, nothing disruptive. It was just us show- ing the shirts, showing the messaging, dem- onstrating that we were against ICE on FIU’s campus.” While the protest appeared to end without any issues, several students who participated — including Caro — say they later received letters from the university informing them they were under investigation for possible student conduct violations. Six students received letters from FIU stat- ing that the Office of Student Conduct and Ac- ademic Integrity was investigating whether they violated university rules by failing to “comply with a request or directive of a Uni- versity Official or non-University law enforce- ment official in the performance of their duty” during the March 13 protest, according to cop- ies of the letters provided to New Times and an Instagram post from ICEbreakers FIU. The group wrote in the Instagram post that “PRESSING CHARGES FOR PRO- TESTS IS BS.” “I, myself, know in my heart I did abso- lutely nothing wrong,” Caro says. “I am sim- ply trying to participate and advocate and be active in efforts towards helping my commu- nity be safe, because at an international uni- versity, ICE has no place here.” As the students were leaving the auditorium, they were confronted by an FIU police officer who asked to see their IDs and said their demonstration violated university rules, says Kaitlyn Daley, a 20-year-old FIU sophomore. Daley says faculty members who protested with the group pushed back on the officer’s demands and asked whether the students were free to leave. The officer said they could. According to FIU’s student conduct and honor code, the alleged violations could lead to suspension or expulsion from the university. Both Daley and Caro see the investigations as an intimidation tactic by the university. Moreover, Daley says it’s telling that the protesters are facing the same level of disci- pline as FIU students who were members of a racist group chat that surfaced last month. The university’s investigation into members of the racist group chat appears to be ongo- ing, roughly six weeks after its contents were revealed. “It’s just insane that we are facing the same level of consequences as these students who were calling for violence among their peers, and all we did was peacefully, silently, protest and speak our mind about an issue that’s important to us,” Daley says. A spokesperson for FIU did not respond to New Times’ requests for comment via email and text message. [email protected] | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS In this photo provided by ICEbreakers FIU, which blurred students’ faces, students hold a silent anti-ICE protest during a campus event featuring President Jeanette Nuñez and Alex Rodriguez. ICEbreakers FIU photo ▼ SOUTH FLORIDA FLIGHT RISK TWO SOUTH FLORIDA AIRPORTS ARE NAMED AMONG THE NATION’S MOST STRESSFUL. BY B. SCOTT MCLENDON O nly one metropolitan area has more stressful airports than South Florida, according to a new ranking from travel technology company Mozio. The Miami area is well represented for the du- bious honor of most stressful airports, with only the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area having more airports (three) in the top 11. Travel booking company Mozio compared airports on factors like flights departing within the sched- uled time, daily parking rate, and drive time from the city center to determine the nation’s most stressful airports. The study used factors like daily parking rates, driving time from the city’s center, and the number of flights departing within 15 minutes of schedule. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Air- port tied with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport for sixth, while Miami International Air- port tied with George Bush Intercontinental Air- port (Houston) and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport for ninth. “Approximately 91% of Americans plan to travel in 2026, with many choosing air travel as their preferred transport option,” Mozio CEO Nicole Kerr said in a news release. “As peak travel season approaches, Mozio wanted to reveal the most stressful airports across the country and share advice to help travelers have a more relaxed and stress-free airport experience.” The study found more than 75 percent of flights in Fort Lauderdale departed within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, while about 74 percent of Miami flights departed within 15 min- utes. Los Angeles (81 percent) had the best re- cord for getting flights off close to the scheduled time, while Dallas (69 percent) had the worst. Two stats (daily parking rate and driving time from the city center) saved Fort Lauderdale and Miami from ranking higher on the stress list. The parking rates (Fort Lauderdale $36 and Miami $25) were far from the most expensive at La- Guardia ($80). There are more than 300 flights departing Fort Lauderdale on any given day, with more than 32 million passengers recorded last year, according to Broward County data. Miami Inter- national Airport (MIA), on the other hand, pro- cessed more than 55 million passengers in 2025, according to the airport’s website. It’s one of the busiest airports in the nation, with more than 500 flights departing a day. [email protected] “IT WAS A VERY SILENT DEMONSTRATION. THERE WERE NO CHANTS, NO BOOS, NOTHING DISRUPTIVE.” Construction in progress at Miami International Airport. Photo by Miami-Dade Aviation Department
