Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has acquiesced to state demands, signing an update to an existing agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that expands the duties of county correctional officers. These officers will now be responsible for transporting detainees to ICE facilities, including the notably remote "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Florida Everglades. This move comes after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent an ultimatum to Demings earlier this week, which was reported by CF Public, threatening the mayor and the county commission with removal from office if they failed to comply.
As per a WESH report, the 287(g) program allows for a partnership between ICE and local law enforcement to arrest and deport individuals who are deemed a threat to community safety and in violation of immigration laws. However, Demings had resisted the updated agreement because the local jail lacked the necessary resources and staff for such transportation. He mentioned, during a public stance, that he believed this sort of transportation fell under the remit of the federal government, not the local administration.
Despite the mayor's apprehensions, the pressure from the state appeared unrelenting. Attorney General Uthmeier, in defense of the state's hard stance, accused the local government of violating a state law that requires local entities to use their "best efforts" to assist ICE. Echoing this sentiment, Gov. Ron DeSantis assured that non-compliance would lead to suspensions. During a news conference at the Florida Highway Patrol in Orlando, DeSantis articulated his satisfaction over the matter’s resolution. “If you don’t meet your obligations under the law, if you don’t fulfil the duties imposed on you, you absolutely will be suspended,” DeSantis said in a statement cited by WESH.
Details of the expanded agreement and its implications will be laid out before the county commission at their meeting on Tuesday, as per subsequent steps outlined by Demings and his office.
