With state Department of Government Efficiency officials within a stone’s throw of their dais Tuesday, the board of Orange County Commissioners voted to ratify a controversial modification to the county’s agreement with federal immigration enforcement, after being threatened by the state with removal from office if they did not.
Mayor Jerry Demings teased a potential future court battle over the issue, but wouldn’t clarify what that would look like, while multiple county commissioners reported being sleep-deprived, “overwhelmed” and concerned about what would happen to the community if they did not ratify and were forcibly removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Just two county commissioners — Nicole Wilson and Kelly Semrad — voted against ratification, standing with dozens of community members who rallied to the county administration building Tuesday as members of a local Immigrants Are Welcome Here coalition. “It may mean that I’m removed from this board, but this is a hill that’s worth me standing on,” said Commissioner Semrad.
The proposed addendum to the county’s current agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was first brought to the county’s attention in June. It, in part, would authorize local jail staff to transport immigrants detained by ICE to other ICE-approved detention facilities, at ICE’s request.
A report earlier this year found the Orange County Jail — the fourth-largest jail system in the state — already had a roughly 26 percent staff vacancy rate, prompting concerns from county leaders that further burdening staff with additional, federal duties could threaten public safety.
County leaders were under the impression that ratifying the addendum was voluntary, and not required under state or federal law. As such, the county’s corrections chief and Mayor Demings determined that voluntarily giving correctional staff another responsibility — taking them away from their primary duty of overseeing operations at the Orange County Jail — would be unsafe, infeasible and costly.
Demings rejected the addendum last month, but pivoted quickly last Friday after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened to remove the mayor and county commissioners from office if they did not sign the addendum.
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“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 told reporters Friday, after signing the addendum “under protest and extreme duress.”
The addendum came up for a vote Tuesday by the full board of county commissioners, who spent nearly two hours discussing the issue after hearing more than an hour of testimony from community members during public comment. Nearly all spoke against approving the addendum. “I’m overwhelmed in ways I didn’t even know existed,” said Commissioner Mike Scott, who admitted he hadn’t slept well in days.
Florida law requires the county to have what’s known as a 287(g) agreement with ICE, but that law does not mandate the county sign all amendments to the agreement, according to county attorney Jeff Newton.
Attorney General Uthmeier, however — an official appointed, not elected, to his position earlier this year — argued in a letter to county officials last week that the county’s failure to sign in fact violated a state law requiring local governments to use “best efforts” to assist with federal immigration enforcement. Uthmeier, in his letter, threatened to remove county officials if they didn’t reverse course.
“I can’t let our entire Board of County Commissioners and myself be removed from office,” Demings said Friday after admitting he “signed the damn thing.”
“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,” Demings said.
DeSantis has ousted elected officials who clash with his political agenda before, on allegations of neglect of duty. So there’s precedent to substantiate Demings’ concerns.
“I’m willing to fight,” Demings reassured Tuesday. “But I’d prefer to fight from the vantage point of where I am sitting today.”
“I say that in all sincerity,” he added. “Because if we are all removed, and others are sitting here, I don’t think the fight would be the same fight.”
Demings, a former police chief and Orange County sheriff, argued that the addendum doesn’t guarantee that local jail staff will actually have to transport immigrants held under ICE orders, just opens up the possibility.
Under the addendum,
“Only upon a request of an ICE Officer authorizing such action may participating LEA [law enforcement agency] personnel transport the alien(s) to an ICE-approved facility or ICE office for immigration purposes, and only participating LEA personnel whose ICE Form 70-006 authorizes such action and who are authorized by their LEA to conduct transport operations, may conduct such action.”
“The addendum requires communication,” said Demings. “It is our belief that if such a request is ever made, we will have the opportunity at that time to engage in conversation about our operational readiness and capacity to honor such a request.”
This downplaying of the addendum, however, put him at odds with a local coalition of immigrant rights advocates — including faith leaders, state politicians and representatives of labor and social advocacy groups — who rallied to the board meeting Tuesday with two calls to action.
First, to “be brave” and stand against the state’s effort to bully them into signing a costly agreement. Second, to file a lawsuit with the intent to ask the courts to clarify whether local governments can be forced to enforce federal immigration law.
“We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking to be able to live without fear, to raise our children in safety and to continue to give back to the community that we love,” said Meilyn Santana, a U.S. citizen and Brazil immigrant. “I urge you to file a lawsuit asking the courts to clarify whether Orange County has to comply.”
Attorney William Mann of the Miami-based Community Justice Project said county officials wouldn’t be fighting alone. “Whatever may come, you should know that there are lawyers in Florida and across the country that are ready to stand with you,” said Mann. “We will represent you. We will defend you.”
Demings teased a potential court battle in the future but declined to publicly disclose additional details. “There are some things that the county attorney shared with me that … I won’t disclose publicly, because it may be part of the future fight,” he explained. “But what I can tell you is this, is that we’re in a better position today, having signed the addendum, to win the fight in the future.”
County attorney Jeff Newton told commissioners it was his understanding that Orange County was the final holdout in signing the ICE addendum. The local jail is one of less than a dozen jails statewide that has this particular agreement with ICE.
“Despite the fact that I disagree with the Attorney General in terms of his interpretation of ‘best efforts,’ that best efforts and his interpretation of it is buttressed by something that I have not seen in my 41 years of practicing law,” said Newton. “And that is buttress with a threat— a threat to remove each and every one of you from office.”
“You are my commissioners. You’re my mayor, and I represent this organization. And I’m not going to advise you to allow the Governor and Attorney General to remove you from office,” he said. “That’s what I think would happen if you decide not to approve this addendum.”
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This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2025.