Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is taking a victory lap after Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said his city has no intention of violating state or federal immigration laws as some Republicans criticize the city’s allegedly contradictory “Trust Act,” which bars city employees from inquiring about residents’ immigration status.”We’re going to be a rule of law state here in Florida…. we’re not going to have any sanctuary cities or jurisdictions anywhere in the state, so we’ve made clear to local governments, mayors… if you stand in the way, we’re going to hold you accountable,” Uthmeier said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends First,” where co-hosts Todd Piro and Carley Shimkus reported on his “victory lap.” “We can take civil action against you. The governor can remove you from office, and there’s other tools at our disposal. So a few of these jurisdictions have popped their head up saying they might not like the law, and they might not want to work with us. LA SUBURB DOUBLES DOWN ON SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES AS NEIGHBORING CITY BURNS”We’ve put them on notice very quickly and, thankfully, so far all have come around, and they are going to enforce the law,” he continued.Uthmeier threatened to remove Dyer, a Democrat, from his post if he refused to comply with a 2019 Florida state law outlawing sanctuary city policies.According to WUSF, an NPR affiliate based in Tampa Bay, Uthmeier aired his grievances after Dyer stated during a city council meeting that the Orlando Police Department “will not be proactive with immigration enforcement and will adhere to the Trust Act Policy.” In a letter penned Monday, he criticized the “Trust Act” though, according to a report from the Orlando Sentinel, the policy says it does not “prohibit any City of Orlando employee from cooperating with federal immigration authorities as required by state or federal law.”The outlet said Commissioner Tony Ortiz, a Republican and retired police officer who led efforts to pass the policy, also insists the “Trust Act” is not a sanctuary policy and that Orlando is not a sanctuary city.CHICAGO ALDERMAN SAYS MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON CAN’T DEFEND SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES: ‘LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER’Dyer responded to Uthmeier with a letter the following day, stating that the city of Orlando takes his “letter, Florida law, and federal immigration law very seriously.””Neither I nor the Orlando Police Department have any intention of violating federal or state law, and as you know, we have signed the Memorandum of Agreement 287(g) Task Force Model with ICE,” he wrote.”Our OPD officers are in the process of being trained by ICE to provide assistance at its direction. We assure you we will continue to use our best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law, as well as state law.”CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
