Orlando protesters decry ICE transport agreement signed by Orange County mayor

Silas Morgan, Orlando Sentinel on Aug 4, 2025

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About 30 people gathered Monday evening in Orlando to protest Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings signing an agreement allowing local corrections officers to transport immigrant detainees to federal detention centers.

“We would not use our tax dollars for a valet service for ICE to send our brothers and sisters to unknown black sites throughout the state,” said Cassia Laham, an organizer with the group Orlando Against Police Crimes.

Demings initially opposed the agreement, which he and all six county commissioners voted against, but relented and approved it Friday under intense pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The protesters outside the Orange County administration building said they wanted to build momentum ahead of the commission’s Tuesday meeting, where commissioners will discuss the agreement again.

Protesters stood at the street corner as cars drove by, honking in support. Some waved signs that said “Make ICE do their own dirty work” and “freedom not fascism.” They chanted slogans including “When immigrants are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

Laham said the protest was unexpected, as opponents of the agreement had just been celebrating its apparent defeat at the July 15 county commission meeting. But their victory soon turned to outcry.

“People came out, they showed up, their voices were heard, and our commission said that they would not sign that agreement,” Laham said. “Then, just a few days ago, Mayor Demings circumvented the county commission vote and decided he’s going to sign this agreement.”

“Demings may have capitulated, but we won’t,” she said.

Corey Hill, a local organizer for the 50501 activist group which helped organize the nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests in June, said he was not just concerned about the agreement itself, but by the pressure DeSantis was putting on local officials to push the agreement through.

The governor and state Attorney General James Uthmeier had threatened to remove Demings if he did not sign, claiming he and the commission would then be adopting a “sanctuary” policy because they were not putting forth their best efforts to support immigration enforcement.

“If you’re in a situation where your elected officials cannot legislate in a way that reflects the wishes of your community without fear of removal or, in some cases, imprisonment … in what sense do you have a functioning democracy anyway?” Hill said.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, who attended the protest, said Orange County should file a lawsuit and allow the courts to decide an outcome to the situation. She will attend Tuesday’s 9 a.m. commission meeting and speak during public comment.

“For those who can be here, please show up tomorrow morning,” Eskamani said. “We need to have a collective force of opposition to this agreement and to also demand more. Demand a lawsuit, demand pro bono legal aid for our immigrant community members.

“It’s not just about defense, it’s about offense,” she said. “What is the world that we actually want to see, versus the one that we’re always fighting against?”

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