Latest news with #FortMyersCityCouncil
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After state's threats, a Florida city reverses course on immigration enforcement vote
Under political pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Fort Myers City Council reversed course on Friday and voted to allow local police to act as federal immigration agents — a development that could push other hesitant cities to bring their local police into the fold of Florida's immigration crackdown. After a vote Monday when the council rejected the initial federal immigration proposal, the Republican governor raised the possibility of removing local elected officials from office and forcing them into compliance 'one way or another.' Florida's attorney general, James Uthmeier, also told City Council members they were violating Florida's ban on so-called sanctuary cities. By Friday, the three City Council members who had voted against the proposal flipped their vote. One of them, Darla Bonk, thanked the attorney general's office for stepping in and helping them 'navigate a complex and sensitive situation' and blamed the city attorney for not advising them correctly. 'You are paid handsomely to protect this council, and you failed us,' Bonk told the city attorney, Grant Alley. The City Council's move to rethink its decision underscores how local governments are trying to determine what local actions to take on federal immigration enforcement as they face new pressures from DeSantis as he positions the state to become the most aggressive in combatting illegal immigration in the interior of the country. 'We've been doing a lot in Florida, but you're going to see a lot more,' DeSantis told Trump's border czar Tom Homan Thursday during a panel discussion at the New College of Florida. 'There is no question.' In Fort Myers — a community with pockets of Democratic voters in an otherwise Republican region — dozens of residents spoke against letting its police department enter into a formal partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An ICE partnership would erode community trust, lead to racial discrimination and unlawful detentions and keep victims and witnesses from reporting crimes, residents told city officials on Friday. They made historical parallels to moments in history that led to discriminatory laws — and raised concerns about state officials' influence over local decisions and local elections. One resident, Kathy James, said she was worried that the governor would suspend an elected official she voted for. 'Are you telling me that my vote is going to mean nothing?' James said, while also noting that she was concerned that local police officers would 'wear two uniforms.' 'They are either ICE agents or they're Fort Myers police,' James said. In South Florida, other municipalities are also mulling how to act on immigration enforcement in the Trump era. South Miami city officials earlier this week said they plan to ask a judge to determine whether its police department is required to enroll in a federal program that gives local police the ability to stop, question — and even arrest — people who are in the country illegally. The ICE program — known as the 287(g) task force model — is the same one that Fort Myers wrangled with. Across the state, more than 100 law enforcement agencies are participating in the program, including the police departments in Coral Gables, Key West, Tampa and St. Petersburg. South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez said the city wants to involve the court to better understand what the law requires them to do. The city is expected to formally request the courts to get involved next week. 'The only safe harbor left for us is to go to court and ask a court to render an opinion on what the law is and what our obligations are. Not the merits of the policy,' he said at a Tuesday night meeting. Florida law does not explicitly mandate law enforcement agencies that don't operate county jails to join the ICE partnerships. However, Desantis and the state's attorney general argue that municipal and city police departments must join because they are otherwise violating a Florida law that bans so-called sanctuary cities. Under the sanctuary city ban, local governments must use 'best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law.' At the time the law was debated in Tallahassee in 2019, the 287(g) task force model was not active. The model, which is done in the community, was suspended by the Obama administration in 2012 after concerns of racial profiling and a lack of oversight. During Friday's meeting in Fort Myers, a Republican state representative from the area told City Council members that they had no choice but to sign on to the task force model. It's the law, said state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, 'The people of Florida have spoken through their elected representatives in the Legislature and through the governor, who was overwhelmingly reelected and the people of Florida have said that we are a law and order state and we have preempted local governments,' Persons-Mulicka added. The Herald/Times asked the governor's office on Friday whether it intended to remove local officials from office if they declined to enroll in the 287(g) task force model. In response, the office pointed to a recent statement the governor made that told city officials: 'govern yourselves accordingly.'
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fort Myers OKs agreement with ICE after removal threat by state attorney general
The Fort Myers City Council unanimously approved the 287(g) agreement with ICE on March 21, 2025. (Stock photo by) The Fort Myers City Council reversed course amid legal threats from the state's attorney general and signed an agreement with the federal government deputizing city police officers to act as immigration enforcement officials. The reversal of the council's block of the agreement with U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) came three days after Attorney General James Uthmeier sent them a letter warned that Gov. Ron DeSantis could remove them from office if they didn't approve the agreement. Three city council members who voted against the agreement earlier said they did so because they didn't have enough information about the legal consequences, with council member Darla Bonk blaming the city's attorney. 'We were never told this vote could expose us to becoming labeled as a sanctuary city despite the city's continued lawful cooperation with ICE. That omission is critical to the lack of efficacy that we were displayed,' Bonk said during the Friday meeting. 'The role of the city attorney is not merely advisory, it is protective. It is the duty of our city attorney to guide this council clearly, lawfully, and thoroughly, especially when our decisions carry legal, financial, and physical implications.' Uthmeier's letter warned the council that its decision not to enter the agreement with ICE implicitly made Fort Myers a sanctuary city, which Florida law bans. Under a so-called 287(g) federal-state task force model, city police officers who receive training could question people about their immigration status and detain them if they are subject to deportation. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Responding to the council's cave, Uthmeier said on X: 'Good choice.' DeSantis appointed Uthmeier, his former chief of staff, as attorney general last month to replace Ashley Moody, now a U.S. senator. The packed audience at the meeting erupted into boos after the council voted unanimously to approve the agreement with ICE, although police Deputy Chief Victor Medico couldn't say how many officers would receive the 40-hour mandatory online training. City Attorney Grant Alley urged the council to support the agreement. 'The attorney general's opinion is not law, but it is persuasive. It should be given great weight,' Alley said, noting that it's not clear whether the council broke the law. Still, council members said they still had concerns about racial profiling, which was the reason the Obama administration discontinued its use of the 287(g) agreements after investigations and lawsuits in Maricopa County, Arizona. Despite profiling concerns, more law agencies are joining street-level immigration enforcement 'To be clear, our vote was in concern to this because of the potential of violation of the Fourth Amendment and the racial profiling. It wasn't that we are not in agreement of the city of Fort Myers Police Department collaborating with ICE, because we have been doing that,' Council member Diana Giraldo said. The courts could provide guidance on whether Uthmeier's interpretation is correct, so the city of South Miami wants to punt the matter to the judicial branch, according to the Miami Herald. However, that city has not formally asked a court to intervene. Fort Myers is not the only place where DeSantis' push for sheriffs, state agencies, and municipalities to enter into the agreements that he labeled as the maximum level of cooperation that will lead to street-level enforcement. In Pinellas County, the chief of school police signed a 287(g) agreement without the knowledge or authorization of the school board and superintendent, with an inquiry from Florida Phoenix alerting district officials that he had done so. Luke Williams, chief of Pinellas County Schools Police, said during a meeting on March 11 that he signed the agreement because he thought he had to. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Miami Herald
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
After state's threats, a Florida city reverses course on immigration enforcement vote
Under political pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Fort Myers City Council reversed course on Friday and voted to allow local police to act as federal immigration agents — a development that could push other hesitant cities to bring their local police into the fold of Florida's immigration crackdown. After a vote Monday when the council rejected the initial federal immigration proposal, the Republican governor raised the possibility of removing local elected officials from office and forcing them into compliance 'one way or another.' Florida's attorney general, James Uthmeier, also told City Council members they were violating Florida's ban on so-called sanctuary cities. By Friday, the three City Council members who had voted against the proposal flipped their vote. One of them, Darla Bonk, thanked the attorney general's office for stepping in and helping them 'navigate a complex and sensitive situation' and blamed the city attorney for not advising them correctly. 'You are paid handsomely to protect this council, and you failed us,' Bonk told the city attorney, Grant Alley. The City Council's move to rethink its decision underscores how local governments are trying to determine what local actions to take on federal immigration enforcement as they face new pressures from DeSantis as he positions the state to become the most aggressive in combatting illegal immigration in the interior of the country. 'We've been doing a lot in Florida, but you're going to see a lot more,' DeSantis told Trump's border czar Tom Homan Thursday during a panel discussion at the New College of Florida. 'There is no question.' In Fort Myers — a community with pockets of Democratic voters in an otherwise Republican region — dozens of residents spoke against letting its police department enter into a formal partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An ICE partnership would erode community trust, lead to racial discrimination and unlawful detentions and keep victims and witnesses from reporting crimes, residents told city officials on Friday. They made historical parallels to moments in history that led to discriminatory laws — and raised concerns about state officials' influence over local decisions and local elections. One resident, Kathy James, said she was worried that the governor would suspend an elected official she voted for. 'Are you telling me that my vote is going to mean nothing?' James said, while also noting that she was concerned that local police officers would 'wear two uniforms.' 'They are either ICE agents or they're Fort Myers police,' James said. In South Florida, other municipalities are also mulling how to act on immigration enforcement in the Trump era. South Miami city officials earlier this week said they plan to ask a judge to determine whether its police department is required to enroll in a federal program that gives local police the ability to stop, question — and even arrest — people who are in the country illegally. The ICE program — known as the 287(g) task force model — is the same one that Fort Myers wrangled with. Across the state, more than 100 law enforcement agencies are participating in the program, including the police departments in Coral Gables, Key West, Tampa and St. Petersburg. South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez said the city wants to involve the court to better understand what the law requires them to do. The city is expected to formally request the courts to get involved next week. 'The only safe harbor left for us is to go to court and ask a court to render an opinion on what the law is and what our obligations are. Not the merits of the policy,' he said at a Tuesday night meeting. Florida law does not explicitly mandate law enforcement agencies that don't operate county jails to join the ICE partnerships. However, Desantis and the state's attorney general argue that municipal and city police departments must join because they are otherwise violating a Florida law that bans so-called sanctuary cities. Under the sanctuary city ban, local governments must use 'best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law.' At the time the law was debated in Tallahassee in 2019, the 287(g) task force model was not active. The model, which is done in the community, was suspended by the Obama administration in 2012 after concerns of racial profiling and a lack of oversight. During Friday's meeting in Fort Myers, a Republican state representative from the area told City Council members that they had no choice but to sign on to the task force model. It's the law, said state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, 'The people of Florida have spoken through their elected representatives in the Legislature and through the governor, who was overwhelmingly reelected and the people of Florida have said that we are a law and order state and we have preempted local governments,' Persons-Mulicka added. The Herald/Times asked the governor's office on Friday whether it intended to remove local officials from office if they declined to enroll in the 287(g) task force model. In response, the office pointed to a recent statement the governor made that told city officials: 'govern yourselves accordingly.'
CBS News
20-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
DeSantis threatens to suspend officials over immigration enforcement
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday his office has tools, including suspending officials from office, to compel local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in assisting in detentions and deportations. The governor's remarks came just two days after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier warned city officials in Fort Myers that their failure to approve an immigration agreement with federal authorities could have serious consequences. The Fort Myers City Council on Monday failed to approve an agreement that would have allowed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train local law officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. Several council members expressed concern that it would lead to racial profiling and harm the community. On Tuesday, Uthmeier sent a letter to the city saying Fort Myers could be violating state law prohibiting "sanctuary cities," a name often given to municipalities that limit cooperation with immigration enforcement. "Sanctuary policies are not tolerated or lawful in Florida," Uthmeier wrote. "Immediate corrective action is required." DeSantis has a history of removing local officials with whom he has disagreed, in moves critics say are politically motivated. Earlier this decade, the GOP governor removed Monique Worrell, the Democratic state prosecutor for the Orlando area, saying she had failed to prosecute crimes committed by minors and didn't seek mandatory minimum sentences for gun crime. Worrell, who disputed that claim, was voted back into office last year. Last month, DeSantis announced that several Florida law enforcement agencies had struck an agreement with ICE to interrogate, arrest and detain immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally and deliver them to federal authorities.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DeSantis warns he has 'tools' including suspending local officials if they don't cooperate with ICE
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday his office has tools including suspending officials from office to compel local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in assisting in detentions and deportations. The governor's remarks came just two days after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier warned city officials in Fort Myers that their failure to approve an immigration agreement with federal authorities could have serious consequences. 'If these local governments are not being part of the solution, we've got a lot of tools, including suspension from office, that we can do now,' DeSantis said at a forum on immigration at New College in Sarasota with the Trump administration's border czar, Tom Homan. 'We've been doing a lot in Florida, but you're going to see a lot more that's going to happen over the weeks and months.' The Fort Myers City Council on Monday failed to approve an agreement that would have allowed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train local law officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. Several council members expressed concern that it would lead to racial profiling and harm the community. Advocates for immigrants say the agreements put local law officers on immigration enforcement. On Tuesday, Uthmeier sent a letter to the city saying Fort Myers could be violating state law prohibiting 'sanctuary cities,' a name often given to municipalities which limit cooperation with immigration enforcement. 'Sanctuary policies are not tolerated or lawful in Florida,' Uthmeier wrote. 'Immediate corrective action is required.' A public information officer for the city did not immediately respond to an email inquiry Thursday. DeSantis has a history of removing local officials with whom he has disagreed with, in moves critics say are politically motivated. Earlier this decade, the GOP governor removed Monique Worrell, the Democratic state prosecutor for the Orlando area, saying she had failed to prosecute crimes committed by minors and didn't seek mandatory minimum sentences for gun crime. Worrell, who disputed that claim, was voted back into office last year. Another Democratic state prosecutor, Andrew Warren, whose district covered the Tampa area, also was removed by DeSantis over his signing of pledges that he would not pursue criminal charges against seekers or providers of abortion or gender transition treatments as well as his policies on not bringing charges for certain low-level crimes. Warren lost a bid last year to return to office. Last month, DeSantis announced that several Florida law enforcement agencies had struck an agreement with ICE to interrogate, arrest and detain immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally and deliver them to federal authorities. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @
