FORT MYERS, Fla — Florida Attorney General, James Uthmeier, said on Wednesday that his office will take action against the City of Fort Myers if it doesn't "immediately correct their problem" of not partnering with ICE on illegal immigration enforcement.
"We put them on notice, but we're not going to wait long," Uthmeier said.
Watch Uthmeier talk about why he believes council members broke the law:
On Monday, Fort Myers City Council split a vote 3-3 and failed to pass an agreement with ICE that would train Ft Myers Police to act as federal immigration officers.
The Memorandum of Agreement would allow certain officers in the department to arrest undocumented immigrants for civil warrants, rather than calling ICE to do it.
On Tuesday, Uthmeier said his office would investigate the city.
"The vote in itself does violate that sanctuary cities legislation that was passed and we put the city on notice," he said on Wednesday.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed the "sanctuary cities" bill into law in 2019. The Federal Immigration Enforcement law prohibits "sanctuary polices" and requires "local governmental entities...to use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law."
Read the law here:
The law says a local government has engaged in a "sanctuary policy" if it stops or impedes law enforcement from complying with federal immigration law. Uthmeier says by not approving the Memorandum of Agreement with ICE, Fort Myers City Council has stopped it's officers from complying with federal immigration law, making it a "sanctuary city."
"By preventing law enforcement from doing that, they are breaking the law," he said.
