Orlando inks ICE agreement. 'People are terrified,' immigration advocates say

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Police joined a growing list of law enforcement agencies across Florida last month and signed an agreement with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to cooperate with the Trump Administration’s deportation policies.

Tuesday, the agreement was blasted by local immigrant advocates as unnecessary and an overstep at a time when immigrants are fearful of deportation — even if they’re here legally. The agreement, they argued, also runs counter to the city’s Trust Policy, enacted in 2018, which bars city employees and law enforcement from inquiring about the immigration status of a law-abiding person or somebody pulled over for a traffic stop.

The city’s deal appeared recently on an ICE database, alongside similar deals with 177 other agencies across 22 states. Because the city doesn’t operate a jail, it signed a “Task Force Model” agreement, which grants “limited immigration authority” to local authorities during their regular duties. It was signed by Chief Eric Smith on March 20, the document reads.

“We’re really in a state of shock that the Orlando Police would’ve taken this step without having a conversation with the community about this,” said Ericka Gomez-Tejeda, a director of community organizing with Hope CommUnity Center. “The City of Orlando is the home to the largest population of the Haitian community in Central Florida, along with the Venezuelan population, all of whom are about to lose their legal status out of nowhere.”

The Trump administration has announced it will revoke the Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and Haitians, which allows them to live and work legally in the U.S.

Mayor Buddy Dyer said he didn’t see the ICE cooperation agreement as optional after changes in Florida law earlier this year. He said the city’s police wouldn’t be conducting raids on behalf of immigration authorities, but could play a supporting role if asked.

“We follow federal and state law,” he said, noting his own disagreement with the legislation. “We’ll still adhere to the Trust Act, which means that at a traffic stop, we’re not going to ask for documentation.”

Dyer said the city could have its federal and state funding threatened if it didn’t sign onto the agreement.

Other cities, including Oviedo, Tampa, Tallahassee, and Tavares, have similar agreements with ICE, as does every sheriff’s office in the state. Others such as Eatonville, Ocoee, St. Cloud, Winter Garden and Windermere have pending agreements, the database shows.

Under such an agreement, trained officers can interrogate anybody “believed to be an alien,” can arrest without a warrant “any alien entering or attempting to enter the United States,” and have the power to serve and execute warrants for immigration violations and to issue immigration detainers.

Dyer, however, said the city wouldn’t be conducting raids of its own, or proactively seeking to detain and deport anyone.

The city commissioners who spoke Monday said they opposed the agreement, with some seeking more information about ramifications of backing out of the deal and Commissioner Patty Sheehan suggesting legal action.

“If we can avoid being a part of this particular group, we should,” said Tony Ortiz, the city commissioner who pushed for passage of the Trust Act.

The Rev. Sarah Robinson of the Audubon Park Covenant Church called on city officials to revoke the agreement.

“I believe it was entered into unnecessarily, and will bring unnecessary harm,” she said.

Sister Ann Kendrick, who founded the Hope CommUnity Center and has worked with immigrants and farmworkers for 50 years, said families are fearful and are keeping kids out of school to avoid immigration authorities.

“The people are suffering. They’re terrified,” she said. “I’ve never seen such terror. They’re good hard-working people. They do nothing but contribute to this country.”

The immigration law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February requires county sheriffs and chief corrections officers that run jails to sign the agreement with ICE. Cities, including Orlando, typically don’t operate jails.

But not signing an agreement with federal immigration enforcement still could lead to city police chiefs or city officials being removed from office, said Cliff Shepard, a city attorney whose clients include Apopka, Maitland and Eatonville.

“Nuance in the this particular law is not recognized by the AG or the Governor,” he said in an email. “The AG has said he will use all tools at his disposal against those who don’t sign, including removal from office by the governor. Having officials vote on an agreement in which a negative vote could result in removal of that official is not really a vote, but a coerced exercise in fealty to the realm.”

Already, state Attorney General James Uthmeier has warned one city it would be breaking the law after it initially sought to buck the state’s will.

The Fort Myers city council last month at first voted not to sign the agreement, called 287(g), which Uthmeier said “constitutes a serious and direct violation of Florida law.”

Uthmeier cited a state law banning cities and counties from having policies that impede a law enforcement agency from “participating in a federal immigration operation.”

“By failing to approve the Department’s 287(g) agreement, Fort Myers is implicitly implementing a sanctuary policy,” Uthmeier wrote, adding that corrective actions include civil penalties and removal from office by the governor.

Ultimately, the city backed down and approved the deal at a later meeting.

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