Demings reverses course, signs up Orange County jail staff for still more ICE duties

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who previously stated he “was not going to be bullied” into signing a controversial addendum to the county’s agreement with ICE, signed the addendum Friday morning.

The addendum will now be presented for a ratification vote by the full board of county commissioners Tuesday, Aug. 5.

The addendum, if adopted, would require county correctional officers to transfer immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on charges of violating federal immigration law to other ICE-approved detention facilities, including the new Everglades detention camp (dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by state officials) more than 240 miles away.

County commissioners had rejected the addendum to the existing agreement with ICE and the Florida Sheriff’s Association last month, with the understanding that the addendum was voluntary for them to sign and not required under state or federal law. Dozens of community members showed up to the board meeting to plead with them to reject the addendum and ensure due process for immigrants detained as part of a mass deportation campaign initiated by President Donald Trump.

“I cry daily watching our communities targeted and families torn apart,” said Tanya Martinez, a member of a location coalition of immigrant rights advocates. “We cannot fuel the ICE machine or turn our local systems into a pipeline to Alligator Alcatraz …where due process goes to die.”

The reversal from Demings comes in response to a threat made by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier earlier this week to potentially remove county leaders from office if they failed to sign it.

In a letter to Orange County leaders, Uthmeier cited a Florida law that requires local governments to use “best efforts” to assist with federal immigration enforcement. He argued that a failure to sign the addendum would constitute a violation of the law and open county commissioners and the mayor up to a potential removal from office by the governor, as permitted by Florida statutes under certain circumstances.

“I am not going to be bullied by the state AG,” Demings initially shared in a statement the next day. “I find it somewhat ironic that the 37-year-old AG is attacking me, personally attacking our board. I spent more years on the streets of Florida, patrolling as a law enforcement officer, than he’s been alive,” said Demings, who formerly served as Orange County sheriff and Orlando police chief before that.

Demings did not initially share an explanation for why he decided to sign the addendum Friday morning. However, at a press conference Friday afternoon, Demings candidly admitted, “Yes, I signed the damn thing because we really had to. We were put in a tough spot.”

“Yes, I signed the damn thing because we really had to. We were put in a tough spot.”

“I can’t let our entire Board of County Commissioners and myself be removed from office,” he continued. “I did not want to be in a position where the governor will have the opportunity to insert his minions in the roles to lead this county.”

County commissioner Mike Scott, representing District 6, declined to comment on the reversal. County commissioner Kelly Semrad told Orlando Weekly in a phone call Friday afternoon that, while concerned, she understands the mayor’s position.

She said her own District 5 office received a legal briefing from county attorneys yesterday, who warned them that the consequences of not signing the modified agreement could lead to $5,000/day fines, having to pay for their own attorneys to defend them, potential jail time, and the governor’s removal of all county commissioners from office. “The consequence then would be that the entire board would be replaced with Governor DeSantis appointees,” said Semrad.

Still, she argued, “We don’t have the capacity to support this agreement.” A report earlier this year found the local jail already had a roughly 26 percent staff vacancy rate. “This came down to a public safety issue for the Board of County Commissioners, and now we have a governor who’s mandating that we sacrifice that safety to accommodate his political agenda.”

Demings said last month that he didn’t believe it was the county’s job to transfer immigrants detained by ICE to federal detention facilities. “That’s the federal government’s responsibility — it’s not our responsibility to do that,” he said.

Orange County corrections chief Louis Quinones pointed out, ahead of the first vote, that signing the addendum would “negatively impact” the correctional department’s current resources and capacity. He said he wrote a letter to the Florida Sheriff’s
Association in late June, informing them of the county’s position, and got a response from the organization “that they understood our position” shortly after.

The county’s existing agreement with ICE, approved by the County Commission with just two dissenters this past March, allows ICE to hold people accused of violating federal immigration law in the Orange County Jail for up to 72 hours before ICE must transfer them to another detention facility.

All of this comes at a cost to taxpayers — beyond the emotional and moral toll of ripping families of mixed legal status apart. Each ICE detainee incarcerated in Orange County Jail costs the county roughly $145 per day, while the federal government reimburses the county just $88.

Following a press conference in Orlando Friday morning, in part to address the issue of immigration, Attorney General Uthmeier thanked Demings for changing course. “Thank you, Mayor Demings, for changing course this morning and doing what is right and required by Florida law,” he wrote in a post published to X. “We appreciate Orange County’s efforts to support ICE with immigration enforcement.”

Demings said later Friday “there’s no question” that the state has used intimidation factors,” around the issue of immigration enforcement, adding, “I’m still not intimidated.”

“I want our citizens to understand that we will continue to fight for what is right, but we’ll do so very strategically,” he said.

Orlando Weekly digital content editor Chloe Greenberg contributed to this report.

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This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2025.