Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd held a press conference to discuss Florida law enforcement's continued cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and will continue to supports its efforts, while also recommending a “path forward” for undocumented immigrants contributing to society.
Judd serves as the chairman of Florida’s State Immigration Enforcement Council and he said the council's role is to provide input and research for the state's immigration enforcement board, not make policy decisions.
“Gov. DeSantis is the best governor we’ve had and he is my friend, but that doesn’t mean I am not going to provide him and the immigration board and my colleagues the best information that we are seeing at eye level on the ground,” Judd said. “To do anything other, would be disingenuous.”
Judd said 76% of the immigration detainers his agency has requested from (ICE) are based on criminal charges. 24% are collateral, which are individuals associated with those committing crimes.
He said entering the U.S. illegally for the first time is a civil violation.
“We didn’t do anything different today that we did during the Biden’s administration, last Trump administration and Obama administration. We are simply doing what we always do,” he said.
Judd said law enforcement agencies didn’t have access to information about federal immigration warrants, but do now. He said there are 1.5 million deportation warrants among an estimated 10 to 18 million undocumented immigrants in the country.
He said addressing this population is a burden for law enforcement and suggested what he calls a practical solution.
Judd said undocumented immigrants who have no criminal history, are not committing crimes, are employed, not on government assistance and have children enrolled in school should have a “path forward.”
“Those who are adding to the American dream… we need to find a path for them,” Judd said.
He said there are a lot of undocumented people who are committing crime and violating the law who need to be arrested, not the ones who have been here and providing positive contributions.
“There’s a lady about 40 years old and she was brought here illegally as a teenager by her parents. She is married to an American, she works, she doesn’t violate the law, has no criminal history, she’s not currently violating any laws and is contributing to society. That’s not the problem person. There are millions of problem people we need to be dealing with,” Judd said.
He said the system is not designed to realistically deport all undocumented immigrants.
Judd said all participants in the immigration enforcement council agreed there should be a “path forward” for certain undocumented immigrants. He said the proposal includes holding individuals accountable through paying the civil violation fines while helping them obtain legal status.
“If Congress does their job and deals with this group, it frees us up to focus on those committing crimes that are dangerous and violent and paying no attention to our laws,” Judd said.
He said he has received support for this idea from other law enforcement agencies and community members.
“I listened to President Trump in the beginning saying put the worst first and then those that are here illegally that have warrants for deportation, and that is what we are doing,” Judd said.
He said there needs to be a thoughtful approach to this issue and Congress is failing at dealing with immigration. The board is recommending this “path forward,” but it is up to Congress.
“We can’t deal with 10 to 18 million illegal people all at once. All we are doing is setting priorities and giving an exit ramp for those who came here inappropriately and illegally, but to enjoy the American dream. That's what we are saying and that's only input and feedback. Immigration enforcement board will hear from us,” Judd said.
Judd said the council will continue providing input and data, but emphasized that any changes to immigration law will be up to Congress.
