• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

‘Yes, We Signed the Damn Thing Because We Really Had To,’ Orlando Mayor Says of Forced Transports for ICE

August 2, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is not happy about being forced to collaborate with ICE. (Facebook)
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is not happy about being forced to collaborate with ICE. (Facebook)

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings signed an updated agreement with U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) on Friday, although he later said he did so under “protest and extreme duress.”

It came days after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened the mayor and all six county commissioners that their failure to do so would result in their removal from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Yes, we signed the damn thing because we really had to. We were put in a tough spot,” Demings said during a late afternoon press conference in Orlando. “I can’t let our entire board of county commissioners and myself be removed from office.”

Demings signed an addendum to modify the 287(g) Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Memorandum of Agreement that will allow county jail officials to transport immigration detainees to ICE facilities — although he said he still needs to assess the readiness of his corrections department staff to do so while keeping everyone safe at the county jail. He said that there are 212 vacancies within the Orange County corrections department right now, a vacancy rate of 24%.

Speaking in Orlando earlier on Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that local governments could apply for grants from the state to reimburse their costs for detaining and transporting detainees. “I think the detention transport, that’s something that would be appropriate to do, and we approved the guidelines for the grants to go out,” he said.

In his letter posted on X earlier this week (which Demings said his office had just received on Friday), Uthmeier wrote that “prohibiting your corrections officers from transporting arrested aliens to ICE-approved detention facilities squarely prevents your corrections officers from cooperating with ICE and participating in federal immigration operations.”

Failure to back down, he added, would result in removal from office by DeSantis.

Demings, the former chief of police for Orlando who has led Orange County since 2018, said earlier this week that he was not going to allow Uthmeier to “bully” him or other Orange County leaders. But he said on Friday that with the possibility that not signing the addendum would allow DeSantis to “insert his minions,” he really had no choice in the matter.

“I thought it was urgent that we had to take action now to preclude the possibility that the elected body here in Orange County could be removed from office,” he said. “I hope you understand that. That was a calculated risk that we had, obviously. People that had no elected responsibility to our county would be inserted or put in place. That would be catastrophic to the continuity of government here in Orange County. That is something that I certainly did not want to happen.”

Uthmeier and DeSantis have previously asserted that other local governments in Florida that do not fully cooperate with ICE would be defined as employing “sanctuary” policies, which are prohibited in Florida.

In doing so, they ensured that local governments in Fort Myers and Key West ultimately did sign 287(g) agreements with ICE, though in fact cities are not legally required to sign such agreements under Florida law — even if counties are.

Demings said he didn’t understand why state officials had to be so confrontational when it came to enforcing immigration policy in Florida.

“We’re not enemies,” he said. “Local governments are subdivisions of the state. Our state officials in government should act like it. They should remember that we are part of the state of Florida. The state of Florida works best when we work in collaboration, across political lines. The comments I’m making today have nothing to do with partisan politics. It has everything to do with public safety in our community.”

The Orange County Commission must still approve the addendum. Members are scheduled to meet next Tuesday.

<

div id=”te-floating-button-container”>

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings signed an updated agreement with U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) on Friday, although he later said he did so under “protest and extreme duress.”

It came days after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened the mayor and all six county commissioners that their failure to do so would result in their removal from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Yes, we signed the damn thing because we really had to. We were put in a tough spot,” Demings said during a late afternoon press conference in Orlando. “I can’t let our entire board of county commissioners and myself be removed from office.”

Demings signed an addendum to modify the 287(g) Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Memorandum of Agreement that will allow county jail officials to transport immigration detainees to ICE facilities — although he said he still needs to assess the readiness of his corrections department staff to do so while keeping everyone safe at the county jail. He said that there are 212 vacancies within the Orange County corrections department right now, a vacancy rate of 24%.

Speaking in Orlando earlier on Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that local governments could apply for grants from the state to reimburse their costs for detaining and transporting detainees. “I think the detention transport, that’s something that would be appropriate to do, and we approved the guidelines for the grants to go out,” he said.

In his letter posted on X earlier this week (which Demings said his office had just received on Friday), Uthmeier wrote that “prohibiting your corrections officers from transporting arrested aliens to ICE-approved detention facilities squarely prevents your corrections officers from cooperating with ICE and participating in federal immigration operations.”

Failure to back down, he added, would result in removal from office by DeSantis.

Demings, the former chief of police for Orlando who has led Orange County since 2018, said earlier this week that he was not going to allow Uthmeier to “bully” him or other Orange County leaders. But he said on Friday that with the possibility that not signing the addendum would allow DeSantis to “insert his minions,” he really had no choice in the matter.

“I thought it was urgent that we had to take action now to preclude the possibility that the elected body here in Orange County could be removed from office,” he said. “I hope you understand that. That was a calculated risk that we had, obviously. People that had no elected responsibility to our county would be inserted or put in place. That would be catastrophic to the continuity of government here in Orange County. That is something that I certainly did not want to happen.”

Uthmeier and DeSantis have previously asserted that other local governments in Florida that do not fully cooperate with ICE would be defined as employing “sanctuary” policies, which are prohibited in Florida.

In doing so, they ensured that local governments in Fort Myers and Key West ultimately did sign 287(g) agreements with ICE, though in fact cities are not legally required to sign such agreements under Florida law — even if counties are.

Demings said he didn’t understand why state officials had to be so confrontational when it came to enforcing immigration policy in Florida.

“We’re not enemies,” he said. “Local governments are subdivisions of the state. Our state officials in government should act like it. They should remember that we are part of the state of Florida. The state of Florida works best when we work in collaboration, across political lines. The comments I’m making today have nothing to do with partisan politics. It has everything to do with public safety in our community.”

The Orange County Commission must still approve the addendum. Members are scheduled to meet next Tuesday.

–Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix

Support FlaglerLive's End of Year Fundraiser
Thank you readers for getting us to--and past--our year-end fund-raising goal yet again. It’s a bracing way to mark our 15th year at FlaglerLive. Our donors are just a fraction of the 25,000 readers who seek us out for the best-reported, most timely, trustworthy, and independent local news site anywhere, without paywall. FlaglerLive is free. Fighting misinformation and keeping democracy in the sunshine 365/7/24 isn’t free. Take a brief moment, become a champion of fearless, enlightening journalism. Any amount helps. We’re a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donations are tax deductible.  
You may donate openly or anonymously.
We like Zeffy (no fees), but if you prefer to use PayPal, click here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Conner Bosch law attorneys lawyers offices palm coast flagler county
  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
  • Flagler County Sheriff's Expo 2025

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
Flagler County Sheriff's Expo 2025

Recent Comments

  • Adam Friedland on Two Turtle Nests Halt Flagler Beach Pier Construction Until September as Workarounds Prove Impractical
  • Dennis C Rathsam on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 2, 2025
  • Greg on Two Turtle Nests Halt Flagler Beach Pier Construction Until September as Workarounds Prove Impractical
  • Ed P on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Pig Farmer on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Bethechange on Two Turtle Nests Halt Flagler Beach Pier Construction Until September as Workarounds Prove Impractical
  • Ray W, on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Atwp on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Stavros Halkias on Two Turtle Nests Halt Flagler Beach Pier Construction Until September as Workarounds Prove Impractical
  • Atwp on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Pogo on DeSantis Sours on ICE Poaching Local Police with $50,000 Bonuses
  • JimboXYZ on Palm Coast Council’s Charles Gambaro Announces Congressional Run Against ‘Outrageous’ Randy Fine
  • Jan on DeSantis Sours on ICE Poaching Local Police with $50,000 Bonuses
  • Sherry on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 1, 2025
  • Ray W, on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 1, 2025
  • Sherry on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 31, 2025

Log in