ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Orange County Corrections Department confirmed Tuesday that since the beginning of 2025, the county jail has had 997 bookings with an ICE detainer.
That number is close to eclipsing the total number of people booked in the jail with ICE detainers last year. The OCCD said that in 2024, there were 1,016 bookings with an ICE detainer during their stay.
When requesting an ICE detainer, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will ask a jail to hold an undocumented person for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release, in order to allow federal law enforcement to assume custody of that person.
The Orange County Commission ratified a new agreement with ICE last month, permitting county corrections officers to aid in immigration enforcement.
The agreement came on the heels of a recently enacted state law that strengthens local governments’ cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“Not only will the Trump administration accept (undocumented immigrants into federal custody), they’ve deputized our folks to exercise immigration enforcement powers,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday on a conservative radio show hosted by Dana Loesch.
During a conversation in which Loesch heaped praise on the governor, DeSantis touted the results of “Operation Tidal Wave,” a partnership between ICE Miami and Florida law enforcement.
ICE reported that nearly 800 undocumented immigrants were arrested during the first four days of the operation.
“What we are seeing is the corrections office now is also an ICE hub,” said Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, the executive director of Hope CommUnity Center.
Sousa-Lazaballet, who recently announced his candidacy for a state house seat, expressed concern about the strengthened ties between local and federal law enforcement on immigration matters.
“There is an increased effort on behalf of the governor to push our local officials to essentially be bullied to sign onto these 287(g) agreements,” he said. “So now our local police can be deputized to do Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s work.”
DeSantis has pushed local law enforcement agencies to enter into 287(g) agreements with ICE, giving selected state and local officers the power to enforce federal immigration laws.