Trump's border crackdown is hitting sanctuary counties where it hurts most.
The federal government has been flooding Democrat-run jails with illegal aliens while sticking local taxpayers with the tab.
And the Mayor of Orange County just sent Trump one brutal bill that has Washington, DC scrambling.
Federal Government Leaves Orange County Holding The Bag For $644,000
Orange County, Florida corrections officials dropped a bombshell this week: the federal government hasn't paid them a dime for housing illegal aliens since July.
The outstanding bill now sits at $644,000 and climbing.¹
Mayor Jerry Demings fired off a letter to the U.S. Marshals Service demanding immediate payment and a renegotiation of the reimbursement rate that's been bleeding county coffers dry.
The numbers tell the ugly story.
Between January and November 2025, Orange County spent $1.74 million housing ICE detainees at the county jail.²
The feds only kicked in $207,000 before the payments stopped cold.
That leaves local taxpayers eating more than $1.5 million in costs for enforcing federal immigration law.
Demings pulled no punches in his December 22 letter to the Marshals Service: "This financial burden has had a substantial impact to our county budget for which we are not receiving reimbursement from the federal government."³
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2005625010635854181?s=20
The current agreement pays Orange County $88 per detainee per day.
The actual cost? $180 per day, per person.⁴
That $92 daily shortfall adds up fast when you're housing more than 5,000 illegal aliens in eight months.
Trump's Border Crackdown Floods Florida Jails
Here's what has Orange County squealing: Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement is working.
ICE bookings at the Orange County Jail exploded by 105% between November 2024 and November 2025.⁵
The jail processed 5,907 ICE detainees during that period.⁶
Since August alone, when Demings first requested renegotiation, the county has housed an additional 3,626 illegal aliens.⁷
Many weren't even arrested in Orange County — they're being shipped in from surrounding areas because Orange County has the region's largest jail facility.⁸
Governor Ron DeSantis delivered on Trump's border mandate by forcing all 67 Florida counties to sign agreements with ICE.
Florida now leads the nation with 325 active ICE partnerships — a 577% increase since Trump took office in January 2025.⁹
The results speak for themselves.
Florida law enforcement arrested 1,120 criminal illegal aliens in a single week during Operation Tidal Wave.¹⁰
Sixty-three percent had existing criminal arrests or convictions, including members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.¹¹
This is exactly what Trump promised voters: aggressive interior enforcement of immigration law.
Democrat Mayor Caught Between Trump And His Base
Demings finds himself in an impossible spot.
The Democrat mayor is running for governor in Florida's 2026 race.¹²
He's trying to walk a tightrope between appeasing his left-wing base that wants sanctuary city policies and complying with state law that DeSantis signed threatening to remove local officials who don't cooperate with ICE.¹³
Immigration advocates held a press conference outside Orange County's administration building demanding Demings rescind the ICE agreement entirely.¹⁴
Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad cited internal figures showing inmates held solely on immigration detainers — with no local criminal charges — surged 3,400%.¹⁵
But Demings can't back down without DeSantis potentially removing him from office.
Florida law requires full cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and Attorney General James Uthmeier already threatened non-compliant officials with removal.¹⁶
So Demings is doing what Democrats always do: demanding federal taxpayers bail him out.
His letter to the Marshals Service claimed the "burden of the expense related to immigration enforcement activities should be borne by the federal government, not local governments."¹⁷
Translation: "Please send money so I don't have to answer to voters about why their tax dollars are housing illegal aliens."
The irony is rich.
For years, Democrats ran interference for illegal immigration, fought Trump's wall, and promoted sanctuary city policies.
Now they're crying poverty when forced to deal with the consequences of open borders.
Orange County claims it costs $180 per day to house each detainee.
That includes security, healthcare, and "basic human needs."¹⁸
But commissioners like Mayra Uribe questioned that number, noting ICE detainees are typically held for a maximum of 72 hours before transfer.¹⁹
Demings refused to provide detailed breakdowns of how the county calculated the $180 figure.²⁰
Convenient.
What's not in dispute: Trump's immigration crackdown is forcing Democrat-run jurisdictions to finally enforce federal law.
And they hate every minute of it.
DeSantis already secured $38.4 million in federal reimbursements for Florida law enforcement conducting immigration enforcement.²¹
But that money goes to equipment and transportation costs for officers actually making arrests — not to jails playing accounting games.
The feds will eventually sort out the payment dispute with Orange County.
In the meantime, Demings gets to posture as both tough on immigration compliance while also the victim of Trump's "unfair" policies.
That might work with Orlando's liberal voters.
But Florida's conservative majority sees right through it.
¹ "Feds owe Orange County hundreds of thousands of dollars for housing ICE inmates, officials say," ClickOrlando.com, December 19, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ "Orange County wants full reimbursement for holding ICE detainees," Orlando Sentinel, December 23, 2025.
⁴ "Mayor says more than $330,000 in taxpayer funds has been spent to hold ICE detainees at the Orange County Jail," Spectrum News 13, December 24, 2025.
⁵ "Number of all ICE inmates at Orange County Jail jumps over 130% in past year," Spectrum News 13, October 3, 2025.
⁶ "Feds owe Orange County hundreds of thousands of dollars for housing ICE inmates, officials say," ClickOrlando.com, December 19, 2025.
⁷ "Orange County Mayor demands federal reimbursement for housing ICE detainees," Central Florida News Service, December 26, 2025.
⁸ "Orange County wants full reimbursement for holding ICE detainees," Orlando Sentinel, December 23, 2025.
⁹ "ICE awards Florida's state and local law enforcement with 287(g) funds to defend the homeland," ICE.gov, September 26, 2025.
¹⁰ "Largest Joint Immigration Operation in Florida History Leads to 1,120 Criminal Alien Arrests During Weeklong Operation," Florida Governor's Office, May 1, 2025.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² "Jerry Demings files to run for Governor in 2026," Florida Politics, November 3, 2025.
¹³ "Orange County mayor says local taxpayers 'unfairly' shouldering cost of federal ICE duties," Orlando Weekly, December 23, 2025.
¹⁴ "Local leaders discuss increase in ICE detainees at the Orange County Jail," Spectrum News 13, December 16, 2025.
¹⁵ "Orange County commissioners ratify ICE agreement with 5-2 vote to transport detainees to 'Alligator Alcatraz,'" Fox 35 Orlando, August 5, 2025.
¹⁶ "Florida says its cops are ready to help ICE with deportations," NPR, March 7, 2025.
¹⁷ "Demings' letter demands repayment for housing immigration detainees in Orange County Jail," ClickOrlando.com, December 23, 2025.
¹⁸ "Mayor says more than $330,000 in taxpayer funds has been spent to hold ICE detainees at the Orange County Jail," Spectrum News 13, December 24, 2025.
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ Ibid.
²¹ "Florida gets $38m from ICE for immigration crackdown, although 'Alligator Alcatraz' bill still looms," Florida Phoenix, September 26, 2025.
