In Orange County, Florida, the number of people imprisoned for immigration violations has increased by 400% this year. This is an emergency: our county jail is one of only a few in the state that are authorized to hold people for ICE, which means that we must lead the way to protect our neighbors from serious due process violations.
Our noncitizen neighbors who ICE is targeting are not the only ones who are horrified by the deportations we have seen. Due process is a fundamental principle for all of us, and as citizens and voters, we cannot abide by these violations of our neighbors' civil rights.
Every day, new stories emerge of neighbors experiencing life-altering mistreatment that Orange County's collaboration is facilitating.
- When someone is taken from an Orange County facility and disappears—cut off from their family and often even their attorney—there is no meaningful due process. Families can go days without knowing what city or even country their loved one is in.
- When Orange County allows a centralized clearinghouse for ICE detentions in our community, with our tax dollars, it contributes to the erosion of due process.
- When our county's taxpayer dollars are being used to fund unjust detentions and deportations, we have a fiscal and moral responsibility to demand it stop. Our resources should go toward jobs, education, and community well-being, not toward tearing families apart.
Right now, Orange County has multiple agreements with ICE and is collaborating beyond the legal requirements in Florida. We demand that our Orange County Commissioners and Mayor immediately terminate their contracts with ICE. Use this form to send a letter to your local elected leaders telling them the same.
Dear Mayor Demings and Commissioners:
I'm writing to you because I am a voter and Orange County resident and I can see that we are in a state of crisis because of the ICE deportation and disappearance machine.
Our noncitizen neighbors who are being targeted by ICE are not the only ones who are horrified by the deportations we have seen. Due process is a fundamental principle for all of us, and as citizens and voters we cannot abide these violations of our neighbors' civic rights.
Every day, there are new stories in which our neighbors experience life-altering mistreatment that Orange County's collaboration is facilitating.
- When someone enters an Orange County facility and then is disappeared – removed from contact with their family and sometimes even their attorneys, so that sometimes family members have no idea what city or country their loved one is for days at a time – they cannot get meaningful due process.
- When Orange County creates a centralized clearinghouse for ICE detentions, it is contributing to the destruction of due process.
- When our county taxpayer resources are used to fund these detentions, we have a fiscal responsibility to demand that it stop. We need money for jobs and education – not for unjust deportations.
Right now, Orange County has multiple agreements with ICE and is collaborating beyond the legal requirements in Florida.
Please terminate these ICE agreements NOW. We need you to fight for due process and for our taxpayer resources.
[Your comment here]
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
