James Uthmeier threatens Key West leaders with removal from office for voiding ICE agreement

Attorney General James Uthmeier says Key West officials risk removal from office if they don’t reverse course regarding the city’s immigration enforcement policy.

Uthmeier sent a letter to Key West City Commissioners threatening civil and criminal penalties if the municipality doesn’t restore its law enforcement agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), arguing officials are violating Florida’s ban on “sanctuary cities.”

“The City of Key West violated state law when they voted to void the Key West Police Department’s 287(g) agreement with ICE,” Uthmeier posted on X. “We will not allow this unlawful sanctuary policy in Florida. They have a choice: stop impeding law enforcement from enforcing immigration law or face the consequences.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a ban on sanctuary cities in 2019 that allowed police to enter agreements with ICE. Earlier this year, he signed a new measure requiring such cooperation with federal agents.

Key West officials on Monday canceled an agreement for local law enforcement to assist federal officers in enforcing immigration laws and apprehending undocumented individuals in the country illegally, as reported by WLRN Public Media. Elected city officials at the meeting said they had no interest in advancing President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

“People who are seeking political asylum are important members of our community,” said Commissioner Samuel Kaufman. “We have thousands of them here, by the way. And they deserve the respect that anybody else does.”

At the meeting, City Attorney Kendall Harden said the city’s agreement was actually void because it had been implemented by city staff without a formal vote of approval by Commissioners.

Uthmeier, though, noted that a state law requires every local law enforcement agency in Florida to enter a cooperative agreement with ICE.

“Prohibiting its police officers from receiving the necessary federal training to adequately enforce U.S. immigration laws not only prevents city police from enforcing current federal immigration law but also effectively prevents the city police department from participating in federal immigration operations,” Uthmeier wrote.

Uthmeier notably threatened removal of elected officials in Fort Myers when the City Council in March refused to enter an ICE agreement, prompting the Southwest Florida city to reverse course days later.

He also threatened Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer over a years-old ordinance restricting police from asking about individuals’ immigration status, prompting Dyer to clarify that the city has an agreement with ICE and would not violate Florida’s sanctuary cities ban.

But Uthmeier said the resistance in Key West was especially concerning because the city, located at Florida’s southernmost border, has faced significant issues with illegal immigration. In March alone, he wrote that ICE apprehended 10 illegal aliens in the Florida Keys, all of whom were previously convicted for sex crimes.

“Later that month, border patrol arrested two more illegal aliens in the Keys: one with a history of violent crime including homicide-and another who was previously arrested for animal abuse,” Uthmeier wrote.

“To close out the month, the Key West Police Department, working with ICE, arrested seven illegal aliens, each with an extensive criminal record, including elder abuse, driving under the influence, and trafficking drugs like methamphetamine and oxycodone. These brutal facts clearly show the danger criminal aliens pose to the City of Key West.”