Fort Myers, Florida, Mayor Kevin Anderson told Newsmax on Friday that the city will likely pass a memorandum to allow law enforcement to train and act as immigration agents despite tearful objections from some city council members.
The Fort Myers City Council met on Monday for a vote on a memorandum of agreement that would allow city law enforcement to train with and act as agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which failed to pass in a vote of 3-3.
Anderson told "Wake Up America" that the meeting made him "embarrassed for our city, to be quite honest with you" after two council members who spoke out against the memorandum broke out in tears.
"First of all, I don't believe that there is room at that dais for emotions," he said. "We should not be governing with emotions. We should be governed with facts, rule of law, information and common sense."
The mayor noted later that the council members were "crying for those families that really are not committing crimes while they're here — I know they committed a crime by entering illegally, but they're here to work. I think that's really who they're crying for."
When asked about Gov. Ron DeSantis' threat to suspend members of the Fort Myers City Council who "are not being part of the solution," Anderson said, "I do believe we will have four votes in favor of this, but I hope they got the message. The last thing I want to do is see any member of that council get removed."
Anderson said that "we don't always agree on votes, but for the most part, they're all dedicated servants" sitting on the city council, "and so, hopefully, we'll get it resolved, and the governor will not have to step in."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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