Orlando mayor backtracks after stating city would not fully enforce Florida’s immigration laws

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (D) is walking back statements about half-heartedly enforcing Florida’s immigration laws after a warning from Attorney General James Uthmeier (R).

While Dyer had confirmed that Orlando’s police department would participate in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, as mandated by new state law, he added that officers would still follow the Trust Act, a sanctuary city policy that was voided under a law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in 2019.

“So, if somebody is subject to a traffic stop or calls the police to report a crime, the police will not ask what their status is and will not be subject to any proactive activities of that sort,” Dyer said recently, according to WESH 2.

The implementation of the statewide requirement to be part of ICE’s program has been rocky in some parts of Florida.

“If the city enforces the policy as Mayor Dyer suggested, especially with [Orlando police] signing a 287(g) agreement with ICE, there will be consequences,” Uthmeier said on Monday.

The next day, Uthmeier posted a letter Dyer sent to him, which said that officers will be fully complying with state law and will be fully participating in the 287(g) program.

“I want to assure you that we take your letter, Florida law, and federal immigration law very seriously. Neither I nor the Orlando Police Department have any intention of violating federal or state law,” Dyer wrote to Uthmeier. “We assure you we will continue to use our best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law, as well as state law.”

The 287(g) program trains local law enforcement officers to be able to perform certain immigration enforcement duties while they are carrying out their daily duties. The federal program is different from joint task forces, where federal agencies such as ICE or Border Patrol are present with local law enforcement and solely focusing on immigration duties.

The implementation of the statewide requirement to be part of ICE’s program has been rocky in some parts of Florida. The Fort Myers City Council did not pass an ICE agreement when it was first brought up, but after public backlash and warnings from the DeSantis administration, members passed the measure.

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