DeSantis warns he has 'tools' including suspending local officials if they don't cooperate with ICE

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

DeSantis warns he has ‘tools’ including suspending local officials if they don’t cooperate with ICE

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Updated 2:13 PM EDT, March 20, 2025

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday his office has tools including suspending officials from office to compel local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in assisting in detentions and deportations.

The governor’s remarks came just two days after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier warned city officials in Fort Myers that their failure to approve an immigration agreement with federal authorities could have serious consequences.

“If these local governments are not being part of the solution, we’ve got a lot of tools, including suspension from office, that we can do now,” DeSantis said at a forum on immigration at New College in Sarasota with the Trump administration’s border czar, Tom Homan. “We’ve been doing a lot in Florida, but you’re going to see a lot more that’s going to happen over the weeks and months.”

The Fort Myers City Council on Monday failed to approve an agreement that would have allowed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train local law officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. Several council members expressed concern that it would lead to racial profiling and harm the community.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/immigration-florida-desantis-homan-fort-myers-c5a7e4f72906c5aa2712b7715812b993

[GreenWave]

1. I heard he was a tool.