Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said Wednesday she will allow an ordinance mandating jail time for immigrants in the city without legal status to take effect without her signature.
Her announcement, in which she told Jacksonville immigrants that “you belong,” came after council member Kevin Carrico, who sponsored the ordinance, urged Deegan to sign it.
Carrico, the council vice president, and others later called out Deegan for her decision.
Surrounded by a dozen religious and community leaders, Deegan said she objected to the ordinance but did not “see a clear path to a veto, to sustaining a veto.”
The bill was approved by a 12-5 vote on March 25. The mayor had until Tuesday’s city council meeting to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without her signature.
In the days leading up to her announcement, Deegan said she was not sure she would sign the bill. She said it was a difficult decision.
“This bill does nothing that federal and state law does not already do. There are elements of the bill that will likely draw the city into expensive lawsuits,” Deegan said. “There is language in the bill that is hurtful and stoking fear in immigrants who are living and working here lawfully.
“So, to every immigrant living in Jacksonville, whether you have been here for decades or whether you have just arrived, I wanted you to hear this from your mayor — you belong, you matter, you are loved and we will continue to stand with you.”
Beforehand, outside City Hall, Carrico said the ordinance gives law enforcement “more tools in the tool box.”
Flanked by council members who approved the ordinance, Carrico asked Deegan to sign it to keep the community safe from what he called the growing trend of violent crimes committed by immigrants in country illegally. Now, those immigrants could face up to 60 days in jail.
“This is a real issue of concern in our communities, and a real issue of concern for me and the colleagues who helped me pass this legislation,” Carrico said. “Everyone standing behind me, including myself, has a sworn oath to protect our public and keep that public safe. The mayor is also sworn by that same oath, which is why I am strongly urging today that the mayor sign this legislation into law.”
The bill also directs $76,250 in unused Economic Development Grant money for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to add more fingerprint scanners to the 150 already deployed. Carrico said deputies would use them in the field to check the immigration status of someone suspected of committing a crime.
The ordinance passed despite backlash from members and allies of Jacksonville’s immigrant communities. The general counsel also told council members that pending federal litigation over local immigration enforcement could make Carrico’s bill unenforceable.
Council members Michael Boylan and Rahman Johnson tried to pass substitute bills, which would have kept funds for the police fingerprint scanners but removed mandatory jail for undocumented immigrants. But Carrico said the substitutes proposed by Boylan and Johnson would gut the proposal.
Joining Carrico on Wednesday to seek Deegan’s signature, council member Terrance Freeman called immigration a “top issue facing our nation.”
“This bill was not filed to hurt people. In fact, I see it as the opposite,” Freeman said. “It was filed to ensure that government fulfills its top priority, which is to keep its citizens safe. This legislation is in line with the mandate that voters placed on us as leaders in the last election cycle, where immigration was one of their top issues.”
In her news conference, Deegan held up a framed photo of her family, which came to the U.S. from Lebanon. She reiterated her support for providing fingerprint scanners to the sheriff’s office. She said she “would have gladly signed” either of the substitutes had they passed.
“But this bill, intended or not, puts a target on the backs of our entire immigrant community,” Deegan said. “And frankly, as I said in my remarks, and this was really a big thing for me, we are making tremendous strides in this city, faster than some folks would like to see. And here has been an effort to slow us down, frankly because of others’ ambitions. And I am not going to allow a distraction.”
Deegan said Jacksonville’s immigrant population contributes to the community, paying $1.4 billion in annual taxes. She also said immigrants commit fewer crimes. That theme continued when the Rev. Kate Moorehead Carroll, dean of St. John’s Cathedral, said people should love their neighbors.
“To arrest people who live and work peacefully in this city is to go against the teachings of Jesus,” Moorehead said at the news conference. “These are our neighbors. … They live and work in this city with us, owning more than 7,000 local businesses. We must love them; we must protect them; we must stand with them.”
One of the immigration attorneys supporting Deegan said the bill will likely get challenged as unconstitutional. Another said that it was “heartbreaking” to see a diverse city that she loves moving in a dangerous and misguided direction.
“Let’s get one thing clear — not all immigrants are undocumented,” said attorney Andrea Reyes, who was born in Colombia. “This ordinance doesn’t just go after the undocumented. It paints a target on anyone who looks like an immigrant, and that should terrify every single person in this room and every single person who is listening.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says a new state law says cities must “do everything possible with the resources available to help the federal government execute federal law.” Uthmeier also warned city leaders seen as preventing police from enforcing immigration laws could face penalties, including suspension.
Duval County Democratic Party Chair Daniel Henry called the bill “political theater at the expense of immigrant families” in a statement within an hour of Deegan’s news conference.
“This bill does not make Jacksonville safer — it makes it more divided,” Henry’s statement said. “Kevin Carrico and his Republican colleagues are using vulnerable families as scapegoats in an attempt to score cheap political points. That’s not leadership — that’s cowardice.”
Henry, a first-generation Haitian American, said he fully supports Deegan’s decision not to sign the bill, adding that she was right to call out the fear this ordinance is creating and the risk it poses to the city legally and morally.
Carrico later posted on X that Deegan “refused to put her name on it — but let it become law anyway.”
“Punting and playing politics on an issue as critical as this is disappointing,” Carrico wrote. “But it’s still a victory, a win for the safety of Jacksonville families and a bold step forward as we lead the nation in local illegal immigration enforcement.”
In a statement on X, council member Ron Salem questioned the mayor’s decision.
“Jacksonville needs a leader, and this is cowardly behavior from Mayor Deegan,” wrote Salem, who was also was at Carrico’s news conference. “Jacksonville deserves a leader that upholds their oath of office, not one that runs from it.”
Another immigration bill, introduced by council member Rory Diamond, aims to audit city agencies that award grants and prevent that funding from benefiting immigrants without legal status. It is scheduled to be debated in council committees in coming weeks.
