Orange County, Florida, Democratic Mayor Jerry Demings has signed a cooperation agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following threats from Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier. The agreement allows local law enforcement to detain and transfer immigration violators to federal custody. Demings noted that the decision aims to protect the County Commission from potential removal.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners approved the controversial immigration agreement 5-2, prompting internal tensions and public backlash. Activists had urged leaders to reject cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Demings raised concerns regarding staffing and resources, noting over 200 vacancies for correctional officers. He stated that the county has never received a request to transport ICE detainees.

Commissioners Nicole Wilson and Kelly Martinez Semrad opposed the agreement, citing concerns over government coercion. Activists have urged resistance as officials have grappled with legal ambiguities.

Semrad said, “By signing the agreement, we thwarted the calamity of the potential removal from office of our entire Commission.”

County Attorney Jeff Newton stated, “Legal requirements for local governments to support federal immigration law are vague.” He added, “I call that the sort of catch-all phrase — ‘best efforts.’ It is deliberately, I believe, ambiguous.”

So much for democracy at the local level, as Trump’s fascism spreads it tentacles downward.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/democratic-mayor-signs-ice-deal-amid-gop-threats/ss-AA1KgBnc

Another article on the subject:

Florida mayor shares startling explanation for his collaboration with ICE

Jerry Demings said an agreement to collaborate with Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown was signed “under protest and in extreme duress.”

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/florida-ice-cooperation-orange-county-demings-rcna222984