WINTER HAVEN — Sheriffs across Florida — including Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey — are ready to help carry out the Trump Administration’s aggressive push for deportations of undocumented immigrants.
That was the message of a news conference Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd hosted Monday morning, joined by about 20 other sheriffs from counties ranging from Jackson in the Panhandle to Lee in Southwest Florida. Ivey, who has worked closely with the governor on the issue, did not attend the conference due to prior commitments.
“Yes, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office is fully participating in the statewide effort to combat illegal immigration and as you might imagine, Sheriff Ivey has been deeply involved in helping to facilitate the initiative,” said Tod Goodyear, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. “Over the course of the past few weeks Sheriff Ivey worked closely with the governor, his staff, and legislative leadership in the development of the recent immigration legislation that was passed during the special session.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reacts to a reporters question regarding recent plans for development in state parks during a press conference at the Polk Sheriff’s Operations Center Wednesday August 28 2024, in Winter Haven Fl. Ernst Peters/The Ledger
At the conference, other sheriff’s reiterated their commitments to tackling the illegal immigration issue which dominated political discussions during the 2024 presidential election.
While there can be discussions on how to treat undocumented immigrants who work and do not commit crimes, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said there should be no debate about trying to remove those who are “victimizing our citizens.”
“And these people need to go, and they need to go today,” Gualtieri said.
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, president of the Florida Sheriffs Association, declared that jails in all 67 counties — all but 10 operated by sheriff’s offices — have signed agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to assist in deportation efforts.
Gualtieri, chair of the FSA’s legislative committee, repeatedly lambasted former President Joe Biden for actions that he said weakened the ability of local law enforcement to assist ICE and other federal entities enforcing immigration laws.
President Donald Trump, who made illegal immigration a centerpiece of his successful campaign last year, has pledged to deport millions of people living in the United States without legal status. That group totals about 11 million, or 3.3% of the total population, according to estimates by immigration advocates. Immigration advocates have also taken to the streets with protests across Florida in recent weeks to protest the governor’s actions.
At the urging of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature in a special session this month adopted a measure aimed at supporting Trump’s immigration policies. The legislation, quickly signed into law by DeSantis, created a State Board of Immigration Enforcement, increased penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes and gave law-enforcement agencies more than $200 million in immigration-related grants, among other provisions.
Judd and Gualtieri are among four sheriffs appointed to the State Immigration Enforcement Council, an advisory council for the Board of Immigration Enforcement.
The new law mandates participation by all local law-enforcement agencies in the federal 287(g) program, a means for holding suspects in jails until ICE agents can seize them.
“President Trump says it’s a new day,” Judd said. “Gov. DeSantis says it’s a new day. Gov. DeSantis and our (Senate) President, Ben Albritton, and our (House) Speaker, Danny Perez, say we’re going to not only lead the state in keeping the people of the state of Florida safe, but we’re going to lead the nation and show them how.”
Faster federal training
The federal program will provide training for local law-enforcement officials in three areas, Prummell said. Under the Warrant Service Officer program, deputies and officers can serve deportation warrants.
Another program trains local deputies and correctional officers to conduct probable-cause arrests related to deportation procedures, Prummell said. Finally, local agencies will contribute to street task forces headed by federal agencies.
The Biden Administration halted local training for the first two programs, Prummell said. The Trump Administration reinstated the training and is also streamlining it to be less time-intensive, he said.
President Barack Obama ended the street task force program in 2012, Prummell said. Obama took that action after a Department of Justice investigation found cases of racial profiling and other abuses, which cost tens of millions of dollars in legal settlements, according to news reports.
Gualtieri forcefully dismissed any suggestion that law enforcement in Florida might act based on suspects’ racial or ethnic status, referring to “the noise” that arose in 2012.
“We don’t racial profile,” Gualtieri said. “Cops are going to do the right thing.”
He added: “If somebody has an allegation that one of us, one of our people, is doing something improper, bring it to us. We’re going to investigate it thoroughly. And if somebody needs to be held accountable for doing something wrong, we’re going to hold them accountable.”
Not merely a federal problem, illegal immigration affects every state, city and town in the United States, Gualtieri said. He and the other sheriffs emphasized the danger of crimes committed by people who cross the border without permission.
Goodyear said that the Brevard County sheriff’s office was one of the first to sign an agreement allowing members of the sheriff’s office to work closely with federal agencies as part of a task force.
“The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office is 100% committed to the statewide effort to fight illegal immigration in the state of Florida and truly appreciates the hard work of Governor DeSantis and our Florida Legislature to provide our local law enforcement officers with the tools we need to keep our communities safe and to combat illegal immigration,” Goodyear said.
The Pinellas Sheriff’s Office displayed posters at the news conference bearing photos of six men in the country illegally who were accused of serious crimes after previous convictions. The new charges included molestation and sexual battery of a child under 12 years old, DUI manslaughter and possession of child pornography.
Gualtieri also highlighted the case of an undocumented worker charged with fatally striking Pinellas Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Hartwick with a construction truck along Interstate 275 in 2022. Juan Molina-Salles pleaded guilty last week to leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
Molina-Salles, a Honduras native, had twice been deported before returning to the United States at Eagle Pass, Texas, Gualtieri said.
While studies have shown that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans, Gualtieri pointed attention to the 1.4 million people with active, final deportation orders.
“From everything we have heard, seen and been a part of with the federal government, their priority is apprehending and reporting as quickly as possible those who are criminal illegals, public safety threats, national security threats, those who have been previously deported and come back again, like Deputy Hartwick’s killer, and those who are ignoring a judge’s order to leave after they had their day in court,” Gualtieri said.
Local agencies are offering their help because ICE does not have sufficient resources to find the 1.4 million targeted for deportation, Gualtieri said.
Judd: Need more capacity
Federal agencies have issued 700,000 warrants for deportation since Trump took office on Jan. 20, Judd said. But Florida’s jails do not have the capacity to hold many of those people, Judd said.
“We’re working with ICE, but the president needs to get that big, black pen out and get to signing EOs (executive orders),” Judd said. “We’ve got to have capacity, and it’s got to come from the federal government.”
Asked how the street task forces involving local deputies might operate, Prummell said those details are still being determined. The program gives local officers some of the powers of ICE agents when they encounter people issued detainers while “out there on the street as we’re doing our normal duties,” Prummell said.
Following Trump’s inauguration and the actions of Florida officials, fears have spread among undocumented residents and advocates of such actions as traffic stops targeting people suspected of being in the country without authorization. Gualtieri said that “cops help cops,” and local deputies will assist federal Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations on operations if asked.
During the news conference, Judd reached inside the lectern to brandish props he wielded at a media event in August — a pair of white running shoes. At the August conference, where he was joined by DeSantis, Judd used the shoes to illustrate people crossing the border in “cross trainers.”
At Monday’s gathering, Judd moved the shoes — now autographed by the governor — in a backward motion to illustrate his suggestion of “self-deportation.” Judd also reprised use of a sign reading “Southbound & Down.”
Judd was asked if the exhortation to leave the country applies only to undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes.
“The priority, as clearly pointed out, is the criminal illegal alien that’s here committing crimes,” Judd said. “That’s the number one priority. The second priority is certainly those that have deportation orders — and that will fill up the capacity. But if you’re here illegally, and you’re worried, and it’s easier to go home than it is to worry every day. You’re welcome to leave the country on your own volition.”
The Trump Administration last month issued an order reversing a policy enacted under Obama that prevent the two main federal immigration agencies from carrying out enforcement actions in such places as schools, churches and hospitals. Gualtieri dismissed as “hyperbole” and “nonsense” the idea that immigration raids will take place in those facilities.
But he said that authorities need permission to enter such places when necessary. He gave the example of a 17-year-old “Venezuelan gang member” sitting in a classroom.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13. Includes reporting by J.D. Gallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: DeSantis, Florida sheriffs step up efforts to find illegal immigrants
