ORLANDO, Fla. – If the U.S. Department of Homeland Security chooses to open an ICE detention facility in the city of Orlando, there is nothing city leaders can do to stop it.
That’s according to the Orlando city attorney’s office, which issued a legal opinion to Mayor Buddy Dyer.
Dyer’s office released the letter from attorney Mayanne Downs, along with a statement from the mayor, on Monday afternoon.
The letter is in response to news that ICE representatives looked at a large warehouse facility in East Orange County earlier this month as a potential detention center.
[WATCH: ICE tours Orlando warehouse as possible detainment center]
News 6 was there as the facility was toured by David Venturella, a senior ICE advisor and former executive for private prison company GEO Group, who is overseeing the expansion of the agency’s detention system.
In Dyer’s statement, he said the city still has not heard from ICE regarding the potential facility, but he sought a legal opinion because of public concern.
Other Central Florida political officials, such as Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson, questioned whether the building was set up to be a detention facility, and whether zoning laws for the area could preclude ICE from opening there. Wilson is proposing a county ordinance to impose a temporary moratorium.
“This wasn’t built for human beings to be located in,” Wilson said earlier this month. “And, you know, I think we can all agree about the humanitarian issues with loading docks being built with cots. But what we may not really understand is also that that is not set up for the type of waste collection that that’s going to require, that’s at the very back of a corporate park that has, that has seven other corporate neighbors with large amounts of heavy equipment coming and going. This is a logistical issue as much as it is a humanitarian issue.”
[WATCH: Immigrant advocates, lawmakers urge public to speak out against ICE agents]
However, the city attorney’s office said any effort to block such a facility from opening would be a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which says that federal laws override and preempt local or state regulations.
“However well motivated these suggestions are, the law is very clear: ICE, as an agency of our federal government, ICE is immune from any local regulation that interferes in any way with its federal mandate,” Downs wrote.
“We remain committed to being a city that treats every person with dignity and respect,” Dyer said in a statement. “Immigrants are a valued part of our community and have helped to shape a stronger, more vibrant Orlando. We encourage residents who are concerned about ICE actions to contact their representatives in Congress as Congress holds the power to oversee, fund and reform these activities.”
You can read the full letter from the Orlando city attorney’s office below.
“In response to reports that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may be planning to operate a detention center here in Central Florida, within our city limits, Mayor Dyer asked us to research and report about what options the City has to regulate or prevent that plan.
“I know all of you have heard from your constituents about forced deportations by ICE, the tragedies of broken families, the fears of those who have lived and worked in our community for many years, and worries about fundamental public safety. You’ve also heard concerns that ICE agents don’t appear to have the training, experience and leadership in law enforcement protocols, de-escalation tactics, and the overall safe policing practices we expect. Some of you have received suggestions of actions we can supposedly take, including declaring or seeking moratoriums, or using our zoning ordinances to outlaw or otherwise stop the use of property within our borders as ICE detention centers, whether directly by ICE or its agents.
“However well motivated these suggestions are, the law is very clear: ICE, as an agency of our federal government, ICE is immune from any local regulation that interferes in any way with its federal mandate. This is so because the Federal Supremacy Clause establishes that federal laws are “the supreme Law of the Land,” and override – and preempt – any conflicting state or local constitutions, charters, laws or regulations. US Constitution, Art VI, Cl 2. This law is well-settled and was applied in Florida in a case in which the City of Hollywood tried to require the United States Postal Service to comply with local building and zoning regulations in building a new post office. See US Postal Service v. City of Hollywood, 974 F. Supp. 1459, 1465 (SD Fla 1997). In addition to federal law, there are other, state laws that, as you know, limit what actions we can take at the local level about ICE, deportations, and related matters.
“In sum, we can take no action to limit or regulate any activity by the federal government in its action to enforce federal immigration law, and that is clear and not debatable under the law of the United States and Florida. We are duty bound to follow the law, even when we don’t approve of it. Each and all of us have sworn to uphold and defend the law of this land, you by your oath when you took office, and those of us who are lawyers, by the oath we took when admitted to the bar to practice in the State of Florida.”
Mayanne Downs, Orlando City Attorney