Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico has revealed that Democrat Mayor Donna Deegan has notified sheriffs not to enforce state or local immigration laws.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been at the forefront of tackling illegal immigration.
In a post to X on Thursday, Carrico wrote, “As to General Council Fackler directing JSO not to enforce the State and Local Illegal immigration laws, This directive not only ties the hands of our local law enforcement, but it undermines the will of the Council and State Legislature. Florida is leading the fight for law and order, and instead of standing with us, the Mayor’s lawyer is siding with open-border politics.”
As to General Council Fackler directing JSO not to enforce the State and Local Illegal immigration laws, This directive not only ties the hands of our local law enforcement, but it undermines the will of the Council and State Legislature. Florida is leading the fight for law and…
— Kevin Carrico (@CMKevinCarrico) May 29, 2025
Carrico discussed the directive in an interview with Florida’s Voice, saying, “The Office of General Counsel of the, that was appointed by the Democratic mayor, sent a letter to the sheriff or email to the sheriff today telling him, do not enforce the state illegal immigration law and do not enforce the local illegal immigration law that we’ve been on this show talking about.”
NEW: Jacksonville City Council President-Elect @CMKevinCarrico reveals that the mayor’s Office of General Council has notified the sheriff to not enforce state or local immigration law pic.twitter.com/0o2MY0GTcw
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) May 29, 2025
The mayor’s office confirmed Carrico’s statement, sharing an email chain about the matter with Action News Jax.
An email from General Counsel Michael Fackler read in part, “The Office of General Counsel advises JSO to not enforce Chapter 605, Jacksonville Municipal Code, while the federal court’s injunction of Fla. Stat. SS 811.102-103 is in place. A copy of the federal injunction is attached.”
The report adds, “That same email goes on to say that the OGC also advises JSO not to enforce the state immigration law ‘as doing so would violate the federal court’s injunction.’ It also says JSO should cooperate with the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
In a statement provided to the outlet, the mayor’s office said the directive was simply “legal advice” and that the office does not have authority over the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office.
“The Office of General Counsel represents the entire Consolidated Government and has repeatedly raised concerns that the local ordinance is redundant to the state law that is now blocked by a federal court. This is simply legal guidance offered by the General Counsel to another independent entity to avoid lawsuits being filed against the city.”
The sheriff’s office told ANJ that it “will continue to enforce federal, state and local laws.”