APOPKA, Fla. — Central Florida leaders and immigration advocates, local and state leaders spoke out Monday against the proposed ICE detention center that could potentially be housed in Orlando.
What You Need To Know
On Monday afternoon, local and state leaders gathered at Hope Community Center in Apopka to speak up against the proposed ICE detention center that could potentially be housed in Orlando
They said immigration officers reportedly visited a warehouse facility in East Orange County last week, which could potentially serve as a detention center
The proposed facility is a commercial warehouse located at 8660 Transport Dr.
Republican Rep. Randy Fine said that although he has not been in communication with ICE officials about potential plans in Orlando, he supports the idea of a detention center in the area
“It’s disappointing we have to be here at this press conference talking about this today. I can see no other way to celebrate and walk in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. than to reject ICE in our community,” Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost said.
He was joined by a dozen immigration advocates and community leaders who came together at Hope Community Center. There, they shared concerns about the current immigration enforcement climate in Central Florida.
“We know that there has been memos coming out of ICE as it pertains to operation tidal wave and so we do have some indication of activity happening in our community and of course we’ve seen the escalation of Florida Highway patrol and DHS spotted throughout the tri-county area specifically parts like Kissimmee,” Rep. Anna Eskamani said.
Leaders at the press conference said that immigration officers reportedly visited a warehouse facility in East Orange County last week, which could potentially serve as a detention center. The proposed facility is a commercial warehouse located at 8660 Transport Dr.
“When I first heard it was honestly like a punch in the stomach because I knew that they were building beds to put the people I love the most in it, and they’re trying to make it easy to terrorize our communities. And every single day I come to work I have to talk to 10 to 15 people with families they don’t know where they are at,” Executive Director for Hope Community Center Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet said.
Rep. Randy Fine said that although he has not been in communication with ICE officials about potential plans in Orlando, he supports the idea.
“I fully support it. I believe every illegal immigrant in the United States needs to be deported if they aren’t willing to go home themselves. We need to round them up, and we need to send them home. And this facility will help with that,” Fine said.
At the press conference, leaders shared a map showing that in the last few days they have seen an increase in ICE operations in Central Florida, with reports of more than 60 operations daily in the region.
District 1 commissioner for Orange County Nicole Wilson also shared concerns about the strain the number of ICE detainees with no local and state charges is putting on the local corrections facilities.
“The number of detainees that have come through Orange County corrections continues to go up. We are at a 930% increase over the month, the snapshot month of December,” Wilson said.
She said the facility that’s being considered for the detention center does not have the land use permission to operate as such and called on the businesses in the area to oppose it.
“This is an industrial park. They are not talking about 1,500 widgets, they are talking about 1,500 individuals, humans, people who would inevitably have lives they are being pulled from. So, I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that we are preventing this,” Wilson said.
Wilson said she had already submitted a memo with potential draft language on how to block ICE from using the facility as a detention center under its zoning.
State Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis was also present at the press conference and sent a message to immigrant families.
“Justice is not selective, freedom is not conditional and human dignity is not negotiable. To our immigrant families hear me clearly: you are not alone. You are seen, you are valued, you are a part of the promise and not the problem,” she said.
Meanwhile, Fine said he supported any future plans to ramp up enforcement operations in Central Florida.
“They know that I support doing everything we can to make Orlando the deportation capital of Florida. We want every single illegal immigrant out of our state without exception. Go home or we will find you and send you home,” Fine said.
Spectrum News 13 reached out to ICE to get more details about its plans in Orlando. In a statement, an ICE spokesperson said:
“These will not be warehouses — they will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.
ICE is targeting the worst of the worst including murderers, rapists, criminals, gang members and more. 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities. We have no new detention centers to announce at this time.”