Fort Myers City Council approves ICE memorandum of agreement after hours of public comment

The Fort Myers City Council voted 7-0 on March 21 to approve a memorandum of agreement between the Fort Myers Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow trained local officers to perform certain federal immigration-enforcement functions.

The vote came after more than five hours of public comment and repeated questions from council members about the agreement’s scope, training requirements and potential liabilities. Council member Berson moved the measure; Council member Watkins Brown seconded it. The motion passed on a roll-call vote of seven yes, zero no.

Why it matters: supporters say the agreement gives local officers a tool to act when they encounter people subject to federal immigration detainers; opponents say it will erode trust in policing, invite lawsuits and prompt racial profiling. State and federal officials, lawyers and dozens of residents urged the council to weigh legal exposure and community impact before acting.

The agreement and the council debate Deputy Chief Victor Medeco of the Fort Myers Police Department described the arrangement as training and a certification process: “This is just a tool. It’s training for officers so that when we come into contact with these individuals…we’re able to act on them ourselves instead of waiting and calling for an ICE agent,” he told the council. Medeco said the department has not fixed a number of officers who would receive the training and that staffing choices would be made after the document is signed and the training is scheduled.

State Representative Jenna Persons Mullica, who flew in from Tallahassee, urged the…