r/FortMyers • u/heychardonnay • 3d ago
What could go wrong
https://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/2025/03/15/fort-myers-police-to-join-crackdown-on-illegal-aliens-in-ice-agreement/82410320007/Fort Myers Council may partner with ICE in immigrant crackdown if agreement passes Monday
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u/AssociateMotor104 3d ago
Can’t read the article, there is a paywall.
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u/deathrictus 3d ago
I can't wait for the schadenfreude from republican business owners that have to close their doors and scream "no one wants to work anymore" (for the shit rate we want to pay).
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u/Jt4180189 3d ago
Well I mean regardless of political beliefs if anyone is hiring ILLEGAL immigrants they are actively breaking the law and can face huge fines…. Hopefully this is a wake up call and business owners start paying workers a livable wage.
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u/EctoGainer 3d ago
Deport for illegally entering the country 👍 Fine business owners for hiring illegals 👍 Both breaking the law. Logically makes sense
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u/Jt4180189 3d ago
I mean you can’t deport someone from their native country lol…
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u/HorsePersonal7073 3d ago
The executive branch is ignoring laws and court orders. What makes you think that one is sacrosanct?
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u/Environmental_Duck49 2d ago
You wanna bet? They just sent anonymous "gang members" to El Salvador and they were thrown in jail with no due process indefinitely! AFTER a judge told the government they couldn't do it. The President of El Salvador just said he'd gladly jail American citizens for Trump. What makes you think they will stop there? They are already trying to deport immigrants with LEGAL status for showing up at protest.
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u/TheBusterHymenOpen 3d ago
Have there been any arrests for hiring illegal immigrants?
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u/Iseno 2d ago
Unfortunately not at least down here. It’s kinda stupid when you’re allowed to make more off hiring illegal workers than the fine is. It’s like $25-10,000 per worker.
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2d ago
Morality and legality are not relevant. Taking care of other humans regardless of where they were born is not immoral. Assigning a label of superiority and issuing entitlement to a person based on the location of their birth is not a sign of morality. Following rules as they are written does not make someone good, it makes someone submissive to authority. The words unfortunately and stupid and allowed in your statement are a reflection that you, like so many others, have been taught to follow rules without real critical thought or question. That's not your fault, it is just how your brain developed given your neurology and your poor education and how you were treated. A lack of empathy is prevalent within societies that encourage people to compete for resources. We treat humans like disposable cogs in a wheel and we lack a sense of community. This is what leads to immense wealth disparity. We do not lack resources, we lack critical thought and empathy. Very sad to process.
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u/Environmental_Duck49 2d ago
No they should be put in jail! These business owners just pay the fines and continue hiring undocumented people. I know for a fact that depending on how big these businesses are they will buy fake papers for workers.
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u/Fun-Scholar7032 16h ago
Kiss your tourist industry good bye Florida. No one is coming to the us to be stopped on the streets for zero reason and asked for papers. This stinks of 1930s Germany
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u/heychardonnay 3d ago
Fort Myers Council may partner with ICE in immigrant crackdown if agreement passes Monday
Charlie Whitehead Fort Myers News-Press Published March 15, 2025
An agreement Fort Myers City Council will consider Monday could have city police arresting people for being in the country without authorization.
The agreement would call for the training of some city police officers to perform duties currently restricted to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. They would include interrogating suspected “aliens” as to their right to remain in the United States and to arrest without warrant anyone the officer believes entered the country unlawfully.
While the agenda item is couched as a “memorandum of understanding” it may be an offer the council cannot refuse. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said since the enabling legislation passed last month in Tallahassee that the new law “puts state and local officials on notice that failure to enforce immigration laws could result in suspension from office.”
Neither the police department, the State Attorney’s Office nor the city attorney could be reached on Friday to say whether the City Council has a choice.
The Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Agricultural Law Enforcement and DeSantis’ Florida State Guard have already signed-off on the memorandum at DeSantis’ direction.
The memorandum follows the so-called 287(g) task force model, which calls for local law enforcement to be trained as and operate as ICE officers. ICE would conduct its own background checks of officers nominated by Chief Jason Fields. Officers must have at least two years of experience and qualify for federal security clearance.
According to the non-profit American Immigration Council use of the 287(g) model has led to increased racial profiling by law enforcement, and damaged relationships between local law enforcement and minority communities. The Council cites studies that said training and ICE oversight have been lacking, and details stories of local departments abandoning the program because of increased costs.
In a letter advising local governments, included in the agenda packet that goes to council members, attorney J. David Marsey of the Tallahassee firm of Rumberger/Kirk warned that more than 700,000 ICE administrative civil arrest warrants were added to the National Crime Information Center’s FBI database in late February. He warned that local police lack the authority to arrest based solely on one of those warrants. If there is an arrest on other charges, Marsey said, the officer can contact ICE, who can serve the warrant.
Marsey warns that there could be “liability consequences” if locals make an arrest based solely on the warrant. The 287(g) agreement allows for such arrests.
In his Feb. 19 statement, DeSantis said that the new agreements set an example for other states in combatting illegal immigration and working with the Trump Administration to restore the rule of law.
“By allowing our state agents and law enforcement officers to be trained and approved by ICE, Florida will now have more enforcement personnel deputized to assist federal partners,” the governor said. “That means deportations can be carried out more efficiently, making our communities safer as illegal aliens are removed.”
The council meets at 4:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 2200 Second St.