State AG warns of mayor, commissioners’ removal if not signed  

Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings signed an updated agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in response to State Attorney General James Uthmeier’s warning that Demings and all county commissioners could be removed from office if the addendum were not adopted.  

By signing the addendum, Demings authorizes county law enforcement officers to transport detainees from Orange County jails to ICE detention centers. 

After signing the addendum early Friday morning, Demings will now take the document to the Board of County Commissioners for ratification at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 5. 

Speaking at a Friday news conference, Demings defended the signing, saying it was a “calculated risk” the county had to take. 

“Yes, I signed the damn thing because we really had to. [We were] put in a tough spot,” Demings said. “I can’t let our entire Board of County Commissioners and myself be removed from office. I say that with all sincerity, because of the role, the responsibilities that we have here within this community, to take care of our community and look out for our residents. 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 that the agreement does not immediately require correctional officers to transport ICE detainees because it would depend on ICE’s request and the county’s operational readiness. He said Orange County’s operational readiness is impacted by the county’s 24% vacancy rate among its corrections officers. 

What’s more, the agreement was actually written for law enforcement agencies, not correctional agencies, Demings said. Orange County is one of Florida’s few counties that manages and operates its jail; usually, that job is reserved for the sheriff.  

For Orange County correctional officers to manage transporting detainees, they would need specialized training. 

Uthmeier sent a July 29 letter to Demings and all six county commissioners via postal mail. They received it Friday morning, leading to the prompt addendum signing. Uthmeier also posted this letter on X.  

Demings said the agreement was between Orange County and the federal government, but “somehow the state inserted itself into the process, but that’s who the agreement is with, and so I believe that common sense will prevail when they are presented with all the facts.” 

Orange County was never a sanctuary county, and its officials believe in lawful immigration, the mayor said.  

“We have never, through resolution or otherwise from our Board of County Commissioners, agreed to adopt sanctuary types of policies,” Demings said. 

According to Uthmeier’s letter, the state attorney general learned that on June 26, Demings had directed Orange County Corrections to reject the ICE and the Florida Sheriffs Association’s addendum that would change the county’s existing 287(g) Warrant Service Officer agreement.  

“By rejecting this addendum presented by ICE and Florida Sheriffs, you adopted a sanctuary policy and failed to exercise best efforts in support of the enforcement of federal immigration law,” Uthmeier wrote.  

The letter gives further details about how “illegal aliens represent an obvious danger to the County,” mentioning two incidents of arrests this year.  

According to the letter, last January, Florida Highway Patrol arrested one undocumented immigrant for hitting and killing a 6-year-old child from Orange County. Last February, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office arrested five Columbian nationals who were involved in a series of residential burglaries and connected to several burglaries across the U.S. 

If Orange County doesn’t adopt the addendum, the state would sue or even remove all members of the Board of County Commissioners from office, according to the letter. 

Hope CommUnity Center, an Apopka-based immigrations advocacy group, and the Immigrants Are Welcome Here coalition denounced Demings’ decision to sign the updated ICE agreement.  

“By doing so, Mayor Demings becomes complicit with the human rights atrocities being committed at these centers, including the already infamous Alligator Alcatraz,” Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, executive director of Hope CommUnity Center, said in a Friday statement.  

Sousa-Lazaballet said Demings acknowledged the county’s lack of capacity to transport jail detainees to ICE facilities and that this would be the federal government’s job.  

“Hope CommUnity Center stands firmly against any collaboration between local governments and ICE,” Sousa-Lazaballet said. “These agreements do not make our communities safer; they make our immigrant neighbors more vulnerable and erode trust in local institutions.” 

On March 25, the Board of County Commissioners voted 5-2 to ratify the agreement for the county to participate in the WSO Program. District 5 Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad and District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson voted against the measure.  

At the time, Demings clarified Orange County’s role in enforcing immigration laws, which was not to enforce them on behalf of the federal government, but to provide the jails for individuals brought into custody.  

“We didn’t really have a choice,” Commissioner Christine Moore told The Apopka Chief at the time. “It’s federal law and state law, and our attorney said that we needed to cooperate with the legal authorities. The governor said if we didn’t, we would all be removed from office.”