A coalition of residents voiced strong opposition at the Aug. 4 Fort Myers City Council meeting to the city’s recent agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the 287(g) program that trains local police officers to act as ICE agents.

In March, Fort Myers City Council initially voted down the agreement after a deadlocked vote, with council members Terolyn Watson, Diana Giraldo and Darla Bonk against it. But Council unanimously reversed its decision after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier claimed that they had violated state law and that Gov. Ron DeSantis could remove them from office if they didn’t agree to the ICE partnership. Fort Myers City Attorney Grant Alley advised Council that it was unclear whether or not they broke the law by voting down the 287(g) agreement.

The topic wasn’t on Council’s agenda Aug. 4 but comes after the sudden opening of a federal immigration detention facility in the Everglades in July. During the meeting’s final public comment period, the group against the 287(g) program all stood while about 20 speakers lined up to take their 3-minute turn at the dais. They offered, at times, emotional testimony asking council members to rescind the agreement between the Fort Myers Police and ICE.

The speakers told Council that the 287(g) partnership created fear of police in the community and contributed to racial profiling. They recounted recent media reports of masked ICE agents arresting otherwise peaceful immigrants and told council members that agreeing to the 287(g) partnership put them on the “wrong side of history.”