(The Center Square) – Florida sheriffs are advocating for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ border security plan, arguing it’s necessary to support President Donald Trump, protect Americans, and give them the tools they need to better do their jobs.
DeSantis’ extensive plan includes making illegal entry a state crime, expanding state cooperation with federal detention efforts, and enhancing criminal penalties.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey are leading the effort among Florida sheriffs supporting Trump and DeSantis.
The Biden administration “opened the floodgates of illegals coming into our country,” Ivey said at a news conference with Judd and DeSantis. “Nowhere else has America ever turned a blind eye to crime. Nowhere.” But the Biden administration turned a blind eye, endorsed and funded it, he said.
“We have gone through four years of illegals impacting our country,” he said, citing examples of how “illegal immigration doesn’t stop at the [southwest or northern] border. It filters into every community in this country. It filters into every resource we have. It targets our citizens. It impacts our highways. We see traffic fatalities increase. Our health and medical resources are impacted, our insurance. All across the board, we see crime rising up because of illegals that are coming into our country.
“In the last four years, we have seen more illegals cross our border in anytime in the history of this country. What Gov. DeSantis is doing is readying the force, giving us the tools, the resources we need to work with our local state and federal partners to get this job done.”
“Sheriff Ivey and I put bad guys in jail,” Judd said. “Our criminal justice system holds them accountable and the federal government lets them into your neighborhood to rob and pillage and steal and rape and murder.
“Our governor is a leader. He’s saying, ‘Look, the people of the state of Florida, the people of the United States of America elected Donald Trump because [he] said he was going to fix this illegal immigration issue and our top priority is the illegal immigrants in this country that are committing crimes.”
Judd then cited examples of illegal border crossers charged with killing Floridians in car accidents, including those driving drunk, without licenses and who were previously deported. “None of these people should have been here to create these crashes and murder these people,” Judd said.
He also highlighted the efforts of a multi-agency operation targeting a transnational theft ring operated by Colombian nationals in Polk County who stalked Asian Americans, broke into their homes, and stole from them, The Center Square reported. Three were released into the country by Border Patrol agents in Texas and Arizona. One was previously deported and illegally reentered evading capture. All have extensive criminal records, in Colombia, Kansas, Michigan and New York, investigators found.
One of the victims of the theft ring spoke, saying she and her family entered the country legally, worked hard and built a small business to only be targeted by those who illegally entered the country.
“I’m a US citizen and wanted to realize the American dream and Florida became the place where that could happen,” she said. “They targeted us because we are Asian American and we work hard. It’s not fair.”
Judd also blasted the catch and release policy of the Biden administration, which Trump said he will end on his first day in office.
“I still can’t imagine why people think more of illegal aliens committing crime than they do honest law-abiding citizens,” Judd said. “I don’t understand that. But we’ve got a governor that says we’re going to look out for the law-abiding citizens, for the children, for the good people of the state of Florida. We’re going to set the model for the other states to follow.”
After Trump outlined his border security plan on Monday, DeSantis said, “There’s no time to waste. Perhaps the strongest part of Donald Trump’s inaugural address was about the necessity of immediately tackling immigration and border security. As the President pointed out, states and localities must work with federal immigration and law enforcement personnel to carry out immigration enforcement. We need to get to work. We must seize this moment.”
