Orlando Becomes Latest City to Sign ICE Cooperation…

Orlando Becomes Latest City to Sign ICE Cooperation Deal, Critics Say It Was Made 'Without a Conversation With the Community'

Orlando Police Department vehicle (Credit: Creative Commons)

The Orlando Police Department has signed a new cooperation agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), aligning itself with more than 170 law enforcement agencies across the country.

The agreement, signed March 20 by Police Chief Eric Smith, was confirmed in ICE's public database and grants "limited immigration authority" to local officers during their regular duties under the federal 287(g) program.

The move sparked backlash from local immigrant advocates, who said the agreement contradicts the city's 2018 Trust Policy that bars officers from asking law-abiding individuals about their immigration status.

"We're really in a state of shock that the Orlando Police would've taken this step without having a conversation with the community about this," said Ericka Gomez-Tejeda of the Hope CommUnity Center to The Orlando Sentinel on Monday. Gomez Tejeda also pointed out that the city is home to large Haitian and Venezuelan communities, both of which face the impending end of Temporary Protected Status protections.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer defended the decision, stating that recent changes in state law left the city little choice:

"We follow federal and state law. We'll still adhere to the Trust Act, which means that at a traffic stop, we're not going to ask for documentation."

Florida law, reinforced by Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier, requires law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. While the law explicitly mandates that counties sign on to 287(g), cities that fail to comply risk having their officials removed from office. In one case, the Fort Myers City Council initially declined to sign the agreement but reversed its decision following legal threats from the state.

Some members of Orlando's City Council expressed concern and opposition. Commissioner Tony Ortiz, who previously supported the Trust Policy, said, "If we can avoid being a part of this particular group, we should."

The state's top law enforcement officials have made it clear that resistance to ICE cooperation will not be tolerated. Florida's immigration czar, Larry Keefe, announced on March 14 a new anonymous reporting tool called the Law Enforcement Accountability Dashboard (LEAD), which encourages officers and the public to report noncompliance with immigration laws.

Despite the broad push, some Florida sheriffs, including those from Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties, have stated they will not dedicate extra resources to immigration enforcement. "I didn't sign up to be ICE," said Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony back in early March, while Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw added that the policies shouldn't instill fear among law-abiding immigrants, emphasizing, "If you're not a bad guy, there's no problem."

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