‘The sense of betrayal is real’: Immigrant rights advocates call on Orlando to rescind ICE agreement

With Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer saying their hands were tied, Dyer this week publicly defended the city’s participation in a federal immigration enforcement program, despite pushback from immigrant rights groups.

Advocates with the Immigrants Are Welcome Here coalition, made up of 30 immigrant and human rights groups, confronted city leaders at City Hall Monday to slam the decision and to call on the city to rescind their agreement with the federal immigration enforcement agency.

“Families are … they’re scared, especially those from countries like Haiti and Venezuela, who are already facing uncertainty due to the rollback of legal protections at the federal level,” Kassanndra Santiago, executive director of development for the Pine Hills-based organization Las Semillas, told Orlando Weekly in a phone call Wednesday.

“Many are asking whether Orlando is still a safe place for them, whether they’ll be targeted during traffic stops, whether calling the police will put them at risk,” explained Santiago, who works primarily with Hispanic and Haitian immigrant families. “The sense of betrayal is real. You know, these families who contribute every day to the fabric of the city, they feel like their safety is being negotiated behind closed doors.”

For Santiago, it’s a “lack of transparency” from the city that’s caused frustration.

“Do we want to be a city that hides decisions from these people and collaborates with a kind of, like, deportation machine?” she asked. “Or do we want to be a place where every family, regardless of status, feels seen, safe and supported, especially when they contribute so much?”

Last month, the Orlando Police Department joined more than 100 law enforcement agencies in Florida — including police departments in Longwood, Ocoee, Apopka, Sanford, Winter Garden, and Windermere — that are actively participating or looking to participate in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigrations and Customs Enforcement program that authorizes local law enforcement to carry out immigration enforcement duties.

Such duties could include interrogating and arresting “any” person an officer believes could be in the U.S. without legal authorization, according to the agreement.

Despite strong opposition from the local Immigrants Are Welcome Here coalition, Orange County leaders entered into a similar agreement last month. Just two county commissioners — Nicole Wilson and Kelly Semrad — dared to vote against county participation, despite a threat from Florida Gov. DeSantis to suspend or criminally prosecute any local officials in Florida that refuse to cooperate in federal immigration enforcement.

“The 287(g) program trains local law enforcement to aid ICE,” DeSantis wrote, in a post published on the social media platform X. “Florida will ensure its laws are followed, and when it comes to immigration — the days of inaction are over. Govern yourselves accordingly.”

Reversing course

Mayor Dyer, a registered Democrat and longtime city leader who says he won’t be running for re-election, reportedly told immigration rights advocates Monday that OPD will not be “proactive” in federal immigration enforcement, despite their agreement to participate in the ICE program, known as the 287(g) program.

“We will from time to time apparently be called upon to support ICE,” Dyer explained, according to Central Florida Public Media. “And we will do what we have to do in that regard. We don’t want to lose both federal and state funding.”

Santiago, who also serves as a spokesperson for the Immigrants Are Welcome Here Coalition, claimed cities’ participation in the ICE program is “voluntary” and “unnecessary.”

Advocates also argued Orlando PD’s participation in the program would violate the Orlando Trust Act, a city resolution approved by Orlando city commissioners in 2018 that bans city employees (including cops) from questioning people about their immigration status.

“Many of the stories I’ve heard are heartbreaking, and that is why I’m committed to doing everything we can do to reaffirm and confirm our commitment to inclusiveness,” Dyer said at the time. “The Orlando Police Department is not in the business of immigration enforcement.”

Under pressure from the new Trump administration and threats from DeSantis, however, it appears the tune has changed, as the federal government moves forward with mass deportation efforts Trump campaigned on and pursued as soon as he re-entered the White House.

Orlando city commissioner Tony Ortiz, who was instrumental in the Orlando Trust Act’s passage, spoke “powerfully” on Monday “about the need to uphold the values of the Trust Act and to avoid inhumane collaboration with ICE,” according to Santiago.

Dyer himself said Orlando police will not engage in racial profiling or actively search for undocumented and unauthorized immigrants within city limits. But Santiago says members of her coalition are, nonetheless, calling on the city to rescind its agreement with ICE altogether.

As of 2023, nearly one-quarter of Orlando’s population is foreign-born, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Recent reports nationwide illustrate that many immigrant families have been scared to send children to school and report to work. Advocates also warn that law enforcement’s collaboration with ICE will ultimately undermine communities’ trust in their agencies and, as a result, public safety.

“When you call those people to serve and protect and they don’t, it really undermines that trust, right?” noted Santiago.

All 67 sheriffs across Florida have entered into 287(g) agreements with ICE, according to the Florida Sheriffs Association.

There hasn’t been a noticeable demonstration of dissent. Fort Myers’ city council announced the city would not participate in the program, after three members voted against it. According to the Florida Phoenix, however, they later reversed course after DeSantis and State Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened to remove the dissenting elected officials from office.

“We were never told this vote could expose us to becoming labeled as a sanctuary city despite the city’s continued lawful cooperation with ICE,” said council member Darla Bonk, blaming their city attorney. “That omission is critical to the lack of efficacy that we were displayed.”

“Solidarity isn’t passive”

Santiago confirmed that here in Central Florida, groups like the Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka and the Florida Immigrant Coalition are continuing to hold “know your rights” trainings for immigrants and immigrant families.

Such trainings, which can be found on both groups’ social media pages and websites, aim to ensure people know their legal rights in the event they are confronted by police or federal enforcement agents about their immigration status.

She said community members who wish to show support for immigrant families in Orlando can contact city commissioners to tell them to rescind the city’s participation in the ICE program. Engaging in conversations about these issues is also important, she said.

“Honestly, just engage in these honest conversations with your neighbors and call out, you know, fear-based narratives or ideologies,” she said. “A big thing for us communally is that solidarity isn’t passive. It requires action, especially when our most vulnerable neighbors are under threat.”

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This article appears in The 420 Issue 2025.