1srelluc
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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 generalâs letter mandating his department to support the enforcement of federal immigration law with a statement saying âit is BSOâs priority to address criminal activity within our community, including crimes committed by unauthorized aliens.â
Last week Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said his department will not prioritize arresting undocumented immigrants who havenât 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 âother priorities in this community that Iâm focused on, and immigration is not one of them.â
âI donât care what country youâre from. If you commit a crime in this county, Iâm coming for you,â Tony said during the meeting. âBut 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. Itâs not within our purview, itâs not within our responsibility, and I wonât participate in it.â
Tonyâs June 3 comments appear to put him at odds with President Donald Trumpâs sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration and Gov. Ron DeSantisâ efforts to aid in the presidentâs goals.
In February, DeSantis touted that all 67 of the stateâs sheriffs signed a âTask Force Modelâ agreement with ICE that gives deputies some immigration authority under the 287(g) program, including the Broward Sheriffâs Office.
âParticipation is not optionalâ
Uthmeierâs letter stated that Tony must comply with a Florida Statute that says âstate 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.ââYou are such an official, and therefore must use âbest effortsâ to work with federal immigration authorities, including United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),â Uthmeier wrote in the letter. âYour statements to the contrary suggest you misunderstand or intend to flout these requirements under Florida law.â
Penalties for failing to adhere to the law, Uthmeier wrote, include âdeclaratory and injunctive relief, being held in contempt, or removal from office by the Governor.â