Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told Orange County leaders Tuesday they could be removed from office if they don't sign an agreement calling for the transportation of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.
Uthmeier published a letter online addressed to Mayor Jerry Demings and county commissioners, warning that they are in violation of state law by not agreeing to an addendum to the county's 287(g) Warrant Service Officer Agreement, allowing county correction officers to transport detainees to ICE-approved facilities.
"Failure to take corrective action will result in the enforcement of all applicable civil and criminal penalties, including removal from office by the governor," Uthmeier wrote.
Uthmeier went on to write that by rejecting the addendum, Orange County was adopting a "sanctuary policy," or a practice of impeding law enforcement from communicating with a federal immigration agency to limit immigration operations.
In June, Demings and the commissioners declined to sign the addendum. Demings said that county correctional officers do not have the capacity to transport detainees. The current agreement allows the Orange County Jail to house ICE detainees until they are transported to the Orlando courthouse or another detention center.
The county is reimbursed $88 per day, per detainee; however, county officials are still trying to determine the cost of housing ICE detainees.
During a July county commissioner meeting, commissioners expressed interest in renegotiating the agreement to allot more reimbursement.
Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad said the state is putting too much on local taxpayers.
"Federal enforcement is not our Orange County corrections officers' or the county's job. That's why people pay federal taxes. So for them to pay federal taxes and then also have to pay Orange County taxes to support that, federal legislation is double-dipping on the taxpayer," she said.
She also believes the county should not bend to the state.
"I think it's very important that Orange County stands up and that we push back and we challenge," she said. "We should not be threatened to be removed from office because we didn't act as the governor wanted us to act. We are elected, duly elected officials as well."
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