ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County leaders ratified a new agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would allow county correction officers to assist in immigration enforcement.
The proposed Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Program would authorize select Orange County corrections officers to transfer undocumented individuals from county custody to ICE upon their release.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has emphasized that under Florida law, all local governments must cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
Orange County is in a unique position. Most county jails are overseen by the sheriff’s office, which functions apart from the county government. That’s not the case in Orange County, where the county government oversees the jail.
Mayor Jerry Demings says if the jail does not comply with the program, the county could lose federal dollars, which could have “greater, catastrophic impacts on our community.”
“As the CEO for Orange County, I cannot allow that to happen,” Demings said. “Especially after talking with (Public Safety Director Danny Banks) and (Chief of Corrections Louis Quiñones) about what’s the impact on us. ‘Are they asking us to do anything that we don’t do today?' And the answer was no. We do this today with the exception of Chief Quiñones’ staff actually serving, being part of the group that serves the warrants, the ICE detainers. But in talking with the county attorney’s office, this is a mandate, this is the law. If you do not sign the agreement, you are essentially in violation of the law, and these are the consequences.”
During a public comment session ahead of the vote, several community advocates voiced their opposition to the agreement, arguing it could lead to racial profiling and discourage undocumented residents from reporting crimes or seeking assistance from law enforcement.
“It doesn’t make communities safer. Instead, it creates a pipeline to deportation without legal due process,” said Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, executive director of Hope CommUnity Center.
Just last week, Fort Myers city leaders initially resisted a similar agreement but ultimately approved it after facing pressure from state officials.
Demings said he understood the frustration and fear that immigration advocates shared during the public comment session, but he said the county attorneys said they did not have good options to not enforce the law.
“We do not support the inhumane treatment of anyone, whether they are here legally or unlegally – unlawfully, I should say. We are here to simply follow a process, a mandate of the law that we do not have the discretion," Demings said.
However, commissioners had concerns about the agreement.
District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson, who is an attorney, said that aside from due process concerns for those being transferred, she was concerned about the use of data and the ability of ICE agents to review the data without the county being able to see how that data is being used.
“Being coerced is not the same as an agreement,” Wilson said, to cheers from the audience. “If you’re saying we’ve got to, under penalty of law, do whatever it is, then can it be articulated in a way that you’re saying in a way it needs to be articulated without looking like we had some negotiated participation in this? Because it doesn’t represent our values, it doesn’t represent our interests.”
District 5 Commissioner Kelly Semrad also asked for a way to get out of the agreement if something changes at the federal level.
The final vote was 5-2.
County officials say that while the federal agreement itself is voluntary, it’s the state, under the new immigration laws passed this year, that is making signing the agreement mandatory.
Advocacy groups say they will continue to push back against policies they believe unfairly target immigrant communities.
