The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency last month ramped up its arrest efforts in Central Florida, according to the latest report published by the Orange County Department of Corrections.
Last month, local leaders were raising attention to the rising presence of ICE in Orange County.
“For anybody that thinks this is speculation, or there's some exaggeration, these are the numbers,” said Orange County commissioner Nicole Wilson.
The average number of daily ICE detainees who have no pending local charges, or have other detainers like the Florida Department of Corrections or other counties, increased from 93 inmates in December to 142 in January, according to county figures.
In January of last year, the monthly average of ICE detainees with no local charges was just nine. The number of arrests had steadily increased from January 2025 until last July, with the average daily inmate population being about 79 inmates. Arrests tapered off until November, when they quickly began increasing again.
“I think all over the country, it's the same story,” Wilson said. “I think they have more resources now. That funding mechanism that allowed them to continue to ramp up their recruitment and their efforts in Florida, bolstered to some extent by the governor and his administration.”
Earlier this week, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings sent a letter to ICE saying the jail will limit the number of detainees held without charges to 66 men and 64 women.
The current Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) allows ICE to use the Orange County Jail to house its detainees until they are transported to the Orlando Courthouse or another detention center. The county is reimbursed $88 per day, per detainee.
One problem that remains is clarity on how many of the detentions are unique versus rebookings. According to Wilson, after an inmate is held without charges at the jail for 72 hours, they’re supposed to be released. However, county leaders and local immigration attorneys said ICE is circumventing the law by transferring detainees into its custody and then rebooking those detainees under a new booking number.
That’s a huge concern for Wilson.
“If people are losing days and days and days without due process, without their case being heard, then we are essentially one part of a machine that is impacting their civil rights,” she said.
“I do not want Orange County to be complicit. It does not align with our ethos, our morals, the way that we value our citizens and, quite frankly, the way that we honor the Constitution.”
The county meets on Tuesday. Wilson said she plans to bring the issue up during the Board of County Commissioners meeting.
