1srelluc
Diamond Member
Help ICE or lose your job, Florida attorney general tells Broward sheriff
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier warned Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony to enforce immigration laws or risk removal from office after recent remarks.
Looks like Mr. Sheriff Four Star is going to have to shape-up.....The crux of it is the Broward Sheriff danced around the immigration issue, saying it wouldn't be prioritized.
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony responded to the Florida attorney generalās letter mandating his department to support the enforcement of federal immigration law with a statement saying āit is BSOās priority to address criminal activity within our community, including crimes committed by unauthorized aliens.ā
Last week Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said his department will not prioritize arresting undocumented immigrants who havenāt committed crimes. On Monday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier warned the sheriff that could cost him his job.
Uthmeier posted a strongly worded letter Monday morning addressed to Tony on X lambasting remarks the sheriff made during a June 3 Broward County Commission budget workshop meeting, in which he said that there are āother priorities in this community that Iām focused on, and immigration is not one of them.ā
āI donāt care what country youāre from. If you commit a crime in this county, Iām coming for you,ā Tony said during the meeting. āBut what I refuse to do is take this notion that we need to be knocking on doors or arresting children or going into day care centers or restaurants and taking and snatching people off these streets who have been paying taxes and contributing to this society in some positive form regardless of if they are a U.S. citizen or not. Itās not within our purview, itās not within our responsibility, and I wonāt participate in it.ā
Tonyās June 3 comments appear to put him at odds with President Donald Trumpās sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration and Gov. Ron DeSantisā efforts to aid in the presidentās goals.
In February, DeSantis touted that all 67 of the stateās sheriffs signed a āTask Force Modelā agreement with ICE that gives deputies some immigration authority under the 287(g) program, including the Broward Sheriffās Office.
āParticipation is not optionalā
Uthmeierās letter stated that Tony must comply with a Florida Statute that says āstate and local law enforcement agencies and any official responsible for directing or supervising such agency shall use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law.āāYou are such an official, and therefore must use ābest effortsā to work with federal immigration authorities, including United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),ā Uthmeier wrote in the letter. āYour statements to the contrary suggest you misunderstand or intend to flout these requirements under Florida law.ā
Penalties for failing to adhere to the law, Uthmeier wrote, include ādeclaratory and injunctive relief, being held in contempt, or removal from office by the Governor.ā