SARASOTA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that Fort Myers will enter into an agreement with ICE or he’s prepared to intervene and suspend elected officials from office.
The Governor, speaking from a golden-hued wingback chair at a roundtable at New College of Florida in Sarasota, alongside the U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan, said Florida law requires all local governments to sign an agreement with ICE.
Watch Ryan's report on what the governor had to say:
“You saw this thing where the city council is fighting the Mayor and the Police Chief over whether Fort Myers PD should be involved in it,” said DeSantis, referring to Monday’s failed proposal in front of the Fort Myers City Council.
“It’s not a policy question at this point of whether they should be involved in it. Under our law they must be involved in it. And one way or another we will get that done.”
The law DeSantis is referring to was part of a sweeping immigration reform package passed last month.
The agreements allow local law enforcement to be trained by ICE agents and authorize them to perform immigration enforcement.
All 67 Florida Sheriffs have signed on to the agreement.
But Fort Myers is the first local government not to sign on.
Monday, in a fiery and emotional city council meeting, three council members voted against the proposal.
Council members Diana Giraldo, Darla Bonk and Terolyn Watson voted against a proposed agreement where agents with ICE would train FMPD officers to perform immigration enforcement activities.
The city council has already announced plans for a special meeting Friday afternoon to address the issue.
“Now, if these local governments are not being part of the solution we’ve got a lot of tools, including suspension of office, that we can do,” DeSantis said.
Congressman Byron Donalds, whose district includes Fort Myers, has called for the three members who voted against the agreement to be removed from office.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote a letter to the city saying the city council violated state law with the vote.
