The Orange County Commission will meet Tuesday to discuss expanding their agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would let the county not only detain people on ICE detainers but also transport them to ICE-approved facilities – including the much-feared “Alligator Alcatraz” facility in the Everglades.
The expansion comes as ICE detainers have already reached nearly 1,000 bookings at Orange County Jail this year. For defense attorneys serving clients affected by these policies, the challenges are growing. Orlando criminal defense attorney Jose Rivas, who has extensive experience with ICE detainer cases, said that when his clients are in the custody of local authorities like Orange County, he can communicate with them via phone or video calls. However, once they are picked up by ICE, he can go weeks without knowing where his clients are.
“I mean, what we’re seeing is you don’t have time,” Rivas said. “When you’re in a detention center, you’re going to get desperate. And we can feel our clients, you know, getting desperate and saying, you know what, I’m just not going to fight it. I’m going to plead guilty. I’m just going to leave and give up.”
Understanding ICE Detainers and Their Impact
ICE detainers are requests from federal immigration authorities to local law enforcement agencies to hold individuals for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release. This extra time allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take custody of the person and begin deportation proceedings. The Orange County jail has been hosting dozens of people in custody on ICE detainers, typically for 24 to 72 hours at a time.
Rivas, who represents several clients on ICE holds, says the uncertainty creates major obstacles to effective representation. The difficulty of serving clients with such an uncertain timetable has led to desperate situations where clients sometimes plead guilty or give up on their cases. He says that the majority of his clients are not facing violent crimes.
The current system in Orange County has already created what advocates describe as “an ICE hub.” Under the 287(g) agreement ratified by Orange County commissioners in March 2025, 17 county jail staff members have been trained by ICE to serve as warrant service officers. This represents a significant shift in how immigration enforcement operates at the county level.
The Communication Crisis: When Clients Disappear
One of the biggest challenges facing defense attorneys dealing with ICE detainers is the breakdown in attorney-client communication once individuals are transferred to federal custody. Rivas says that after an ICE pickup, he can go weeks without knowing where his clients are, which effectively hobbles a defense strategy.
The problem is widespread. Research by the American Civil Liberties Union found that at least 58 ICE detention facilities do not allow attorneys to schedule phone calls with a detained client at a certain date and time. Furthermore, detained immigrants must pay to make outgoing phone calls to lawyers at most facilities, making it extremely difficult for people in immigration detention to access their attorneys.
For immigration lawyers in Central Florida, the situation has gotten even more difficult with the introduction of the Everglades facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” State Representative Anna Eskamani and State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith confirmed that some detainees have been taken to the new facility in the Everglades, located hours away from Orlando and legal help. The situation is very hard for families.
One detainee’s mother called Rivas’s office, concerned about her son, who is currently being held there. “We didn’t know what he was going to go through,” she said. “We don’t know if he’s going to be mistreated, if he’s going to be able to sleep well. What kind of people will be around him?”
Unique Innovation in ICE Detainer Cases: Stay in Jail
An ICE detainer fundamentally alters an immigrant’s criminal defense strategy. Rivas has developed an unconventional approach to protect his clients’ interests. To buy more time for their defense, he may advise a client not to pay their bonds so they can stay in local custody longer. Once they are in ICE custody, he has no idea when he may hear from them again.
While remaining in local custody means a longer stay in jail, it preserves the attorney-client relationship and maintains the possibility of resolving the criminal case favorably. Rivas says the approach is driven by trying to do what it takes to protect his clients’ rights. “Sometimes that means it’s better for a client to stay in custody as long as possible,” he said. “So we can resolve their case instead of having them hauled away by ICE.”
Defense lawyers now have to find a balance: they want enough time to fully investigate and build the strongest case possible, but if things take too long, their client might get moved into immigration custody.
The Broader Legal and Humanitarian Impact
The expansion of ICE detainer operations in Orange County reflects broader national trends in immigration enforcement. Orange County has seen ICE detainer bookings dramatically increase. While there were about 1,000 bookings in all of 2024, there were nearly that many in just the first few months of 2025, straining both the jail system and the legal resources available to assist detained individuals.
The humanitarian concerns extend beyond legal representation. After touring the Orange County jail, State Representative Anna Eskamani and State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith noted a lack of immigration legal representation, with many detainees not having attorneys. This shortage of legal representation is part of a national crisis, with representation rates in immigration court dropping from 65 percent to just 30 percent recently.
For immigration lawyers like Rivas, these systemic challenges create a difficult working environment. Even when he can finally contact and locate his clients, there is no way of knowing when he will have consistent communication with them or be able to take them to immigration court to resolve their cases.
Moving Forward: Challenges and Advocacy Efforts
The proposed expansion of Orange County’s ICE detainer agreement represents more than just a procedural change—it signifies a fundamental shift in how immigration enforcement operates at the local level. The addition of transportation authority would create a more streamlined pipeline from local custody to federal immigration detention, potentially reducing the already limited time attorneys have to work with their clients.
Legal advocacy organizations have raised concerns about the constitutional implications of these expanded powers. The American Immigration Council and other groups have argued that current ICE detention policies violate constitutional requirements for access to counsel. The addition of local transportation authority could make these constitutional concerns worse by further limiting the time available for legal consultation and case preparation.
The human cost of these policies extends beyond legal technicalities. Families are separated, communities are disrupted, and individuals with potential legal defenses are deported without adequate representation.
Orlando Criminal Defense Attorney Jose Rivas is a veteran bilingual TV Legal Analyst who has appeared on Univision, Fox News, Telemundo, and many other news outlets.