After Florida AG threatens to remove him, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer says city’s immigration policy is lawful

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier warned Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer not to enforce a 2018 sanctuary policy in the city — and that failure to comply could result in penalties including removal from office. One day later, the mayor maintains the city’s policy is lawful.

In a social media post shared Monday afternoon, Uthmeier attached a letter addressed to the mayor addressing his immigration policies in the city.

Dyer earlier this month said that the Orlando Police Department will not be “proactive” in immigration enforcement, although the city did enter the 287(g) agreement to participate with ICE (along with more than 100 law enforcement agencies across the state). Instead, Orlando will continue to honor the city’s Trust Act, a 2018 policy passed to prevent government employees from inquiring about the immigration status of law-abiding citizens.

Signing on to the 287(g) agreement was met with pushback from immigrant rights advocates, who confronted city leaders at City Hall April 7 to slam the decision and to call on the city to rescind their agreement with the federal agency.

Dyer reportedly told community members that the city “will from time to time apparently be called upon to support ICE,” as reported by 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.” In his letter, Uthmeier says the Trust Act policy is no longer lawful following Gov. DeSantis’ passage of a state law in 2019 that bans sanctuary cities throughout Florida.

“By prohibiting law enforcement officers from inquiring about a person’s immigration status, the City of Orlando is unlawfully implementing a sanctuary policy and blatantly violating the law,” the letter reads. “As the mayor of the City of Orlando and as an official responsible for directing OPD, you must use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration crimes as required by Florida law.”

Uthmeier continues to outline applicable penalties that “may” result if the sanctuary policy ban is not followed, including “being held in contempt, declaratory or injunctive relief, and removal from office by the Governor.”

On Tuesday, the mayor responded with a letter that states neither he nor the Orlando Police Department has any intention of violating the law and that they are gearing up to “continue to use our best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law, as well as state law.”

The letter also confirms the city has signed the Memorandum and Agreement 287(g) Task Force program, which ensures a city’s partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and authorizes local law enforcement to perform immigration officer functions under ICE’s oversight.

The back-and-forth comes as immigration enforcement across the state, and the country, ramps up under President Trump’s harsh crackdown. In the Sunshine State, cities continue to sign on to the ICE task force agreement, and are now being joined by universities, with some even deputizing campus police to carry out enforcement on campuses.

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This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2025.