ORLANDO, Fla. – Immigration advocates and community leaders packed the Orange County Administration Building Tuesday morning, urging commissioners to end the county’s longstanding partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The agreement, known as the Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA), allows the Orange County Jail to temporarily house ICE detainees, including transfers from other states. While the board did not take any formal action Tuesday, dozens of speakers called on commissioners to rescind the agreement and schedule a full public hearing on the issue.
[VIDEO: Orange County Commission to vote on controversial ICE transport agreement]
“This is about people. This is about our dignity,” said Felipe Souza with the Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka. “I am hopeful that the IGSA will once and for all be something in the history books, and our community will be remembered across the state as people who stood strong for human rights, for human dignity, and for democracy.”
The renewed push to end the IGSA comes as concerns grow over a new clause that could require Orange County staff to help transport ICE detainees to other federal facilities, including a remote detention center in the Everglades that some advocates refer to as “Alligator Alcatraz”.
[VIDEO: Lawmakers visit ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ after being blocked]
District 5 Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad voiced support for reviewing the agreement.
“When it comes to immigration, let’s be honest, this county is not required to have an IGSA,” Semrad said. “Today we are asking for the mayor to repeal and rescind the contract.”
“I’ve seen this before, and I’m here to sound the alarm,” Souza said. “As an immigrant and a human rights defender, I cannot stand idle as I see my brothers and sisters being taken to an encampment in the middle of the Everglades, living under horrible conditions, and all of that with our money, in our name.”
Tuesday’s commission meeting drew extensive public comment from residents, legal advocates, and faith-based groups. Many expressed concern that the agreement has remained in place without a formal hearing or transparent community input.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the commission had not scheduled a vote or announced any next steps. But immigration advocates say they plan to keep showing up, until Orange County ends its partnership with ICE.
From January through early May, county officials say 438 people were booked into the Orange County jail on ICE detainers, without any state charges. Advocates warn that the number could increase if transportation protocols are expanded under the proposed amendment.
Commissioner Nicole Wilson also voiced concern in a recent meeting.
“We are continuing to be complacent in something that not only historically is going to be shown immoral, and I believe cruel and indefensible,” she said.
[VIDEO: Orange County leaders OK ICE agreement, but not without pushback]
Orange County entered into a 287(g) agreement with ICE earlier this year, enabling local officers to enforce certain federal immigration laws within the county jail. The transport vote would build on that agreement, following guidance issued by the Florida Sheriffs Association.
Mayor Jerry Demings acknowledged the controversy but said the county has limited options under current state law and political pressure from Tallahassee.
[VIDEO: Alligator Alcataraz detainee unreachable, Orlando immigration attorney claims]
“I held out signing this thing… but at the end of the day, I felt that not signing it was going to expose our county to some consequences… greater than if I signed it,” Demings said.