JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Tuesday, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan declared her decision to veto a divisive immigration ordinance. This ordinance would have mandated that local organizations verify city grant funding is not provided to immigrants who lack permanent legal status.

During the Tuesday meeting, Jacksonville City Council members attempted to overturn the mayor’s veto but did not achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. The council voted 8-7 in an effort to override the veto.

The ordinance, introduced by Councilman Rory Diamond, had been approved by Jacksonville City Council in an 11-7 vote earlier this month. 

According to the legislation, the mayor’s office would have been required to submit a comprehensive report by June 30, 2025. This report would include details on how federal funds are utilized and whether the city adheres to state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

Deegan said during a news conference Tuesday that the measure creates legal risks and oversteps the domain of local government. 

“Immigration is the domain of the federal government, not local government,” Deegan said. “Yet here we are, facing another bill that takes Jacksonville way out of our lane. This bill places us in the difficult position of asking healthcare providers and nonprofits to determine immigration status, which is neither their role nor their expertise.”

She said that the bill “stokes fear and casts a shadow over all immigrants” living in Jacksonville, while under the guise of “targeting undocumented immigrants.”

“This bill is not rooted in the common good; it is political theatre disguised as fiscal oversight,” Deegan said.

The measure has elicited backlash from community members and city council members since it was introduced, with protesters taking to the steps of City Hall and many voicing concerns during public comment.

Amendments were added to the legislation before it passed to include key exemptions for children, pregnant women, survivors of domestic violence and active-duty military families.

Diamond issued a statement Tuesday in response to the mayor’s veto, arguing the move leaves the possibility for Jacksonville to become a “sanctuary city.”

“By vetoing a bill I authored, as well as the members of city council who voted in favor with overwhelming support, to stop the use of taxpayer dollars from being spent on illegal aliens, Mayor Donna Deagan is making Jacksonville a sanctuary city under our noses,” said Diamond. 

Deegan argued that “Jacksonville cannot and will not become a sanctuary city,” because Florida lawmakers passed a statewide ban on sanctuary policies in 2019.

“Jacksonville will always follow state and federal laws as long as those laws are constitutional,” she added.

Diamond has argued that the bill will bring transparency and accountability to how public funds are used, particularly for nonprofit organizations that receive city funds and contracts.

“She has clearly made the choice to support law breakers over hard working Jacksonvillians, and prioritize illegals and criminals who put our city at risk over the great silent majority of Jacksonville,” he said. “We absolutely will not give up the fight, I will put this same bill in this year’s budget.”

Deegan said there is a lack of data and examples of the abuse of city dollars going to undocumented immigrants to justify the legislation.

“To ask our nonprofits, who are simply trying to do the good work of caring for our most vulnerable citizens, to be police. To me is asking too much when there’s no evidence that anyone is not following the process,” Deegan said.

Councilman Jimmy Peluso supported Deegan’s veto, saying the legislation spreads fear among the immigrant community.

“Let’s get back to doing the good work Jacksonville is asking for us to do: housing affordability, homelessness, economic development and establishing a neighborhood Bill of Rights,” Peluso said in a statement Tuesday. “Let us finally turn the page on these highly unnecessary bills.”

Councilman Matt Carlucci, who voiced opposition to the legislation before it was approved, echoed similar sentiments in a statement Tuesday. 

“At today’s press conference, Mayor Deegan took those pushing this misguided immigration bill straight to the church of the painful truth,” he said. “This bill doesn’t solve real problems; it hurts people and children.”

The mayor’s veto comes months after she neither signed nor vetoed another immigration bill, making it a local crime for undocumented immigrants to enter or reside in Jacksonville. The bill, called the Jacksonville Illegal Immigration Act, still became law without Deegan’s signature.