In the video, Cardona issued a cautionary message to the immigrant community in Jacksonville, expressing concern over the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Her message was a response to earlier reports circulating on social media about suspected ICE activities in the area.

Emotionally charged, Cardona urged immigrants to prioritize their safety and comply with authorities if they encounter such situations. “This video is for my immigrants here in Jacksonville. As you guys know, ICE is out and about,” she said, emphasizing the importance of caution.

Cardona further advised viewers to have legal preparations in place. “The best advice I could give you is to please just comply, comply, as much as we don’t want to, and I know many of us are gonna be out recording these, please be safe, be safe, OK? Comply, have a plan in place with your lawyer and have a power of attorney in place,” she urged, highlighting the need for preparedness and legal safeguards.

Mayor Deegan’s response to the video reflects the delicate balance local authorities must maintain between addressing community concerns and managing public communications. The situation underscores the ongoing tension surrounding immigration enforcement in communities across the United States.

“The best advice I could give you is to please just comply, comply, as much as we don’t want to, and I know many of us are gonna be out recording these, please be safe, be safe, OK? Comply, have a plan in place with your lawyer and have a power of attorney in place,” Cardona explained.

Cardona has since been placed on administrative leave. Deegan said Cardona violated her office’s social media policy by posting the video during work hours at city hall and without getting permission to do so.

Deegan added the Office of General Counsel confirmed nothing Cardona said in the video was illegal. 

“This is certainly an issue that stokes fear in our community and I hate that. But what you cannot do when you work for an administration is go do what you want to do,” Deegan explained.

Deegan clarified she did not think Cardona said anything wrong in her video and this was a matter of violating policy.

“It wasn’t the content of what she said that I took issue with. The reason that she was put on administrative leave is because we have a policy in this city. We’ve got a mayor who is the spokesperson for the city. And we have people who follow policy that if you are going to create any sort of social media content, if you are going to make any sort of commentary, especially in this office, that would be construed as coming from the mayor, that has to come through me or through our communications office, period,” Deegan said.

Criticism of the video has been swift with the Florida Republican Party calling on the mayor to hold Cardona accountable. Governor Ron DeSantis also commented on the video during a press conference in Jacksonville Thursday morning.

“I know you had that one woman in the city of Jacksonville government putting out information. Look, that not the way we roll here in the state of Florida. We’re going to respect the law enforcement,” DeSantis said.

Deegan pushed back against these critics calling it ‘political fodder’ and said she stands with the city’s immigrant community.

“I have no interest in bringing Washington politics to Jacksonville. And yet, the people who are on that hyper-partisan lens will constantly do that and with look for any opportunity in, and we just gave them a golden one,” Deegan said.

Deegan confirmed Cardona remains on administrative leave and there is no timeline yet for when she will return to work.