Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony emphasized he will not involve his sheriff's office in any U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids as top cop. The comments came during a county commissioner meeting this week.
“We have other priorities in this community that we’re focused on and immigration is not one of them, not to dismiss the importance of that,” Tony said. ”I don’t care what country you’re from. If you commit a crime in this country, or commit a crime in this county, I’m coming for you.”
Tony's position is in stark contrast with the Trump administration, which reinstated the federal 287-G program that authorizes immigration enforcement. Gov. Ron DeSantis has also made immigration crackdowns a top priority through Operation Tidal Wave, months after he signed an anti-immigration bill into Florida law.
Highly publicized ICE pickups have sparked criticism from some lawmakers across the country, including the removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran illegal alien allegedly linked to MS-13.
"No, we're not playing in that cesspool. The patch on our sleeves says Broward County. We're not ICE. We're not immigration," Tony said. "I don't work for the Department of Justice. I don't work for the President of the United States. I work for the people of this community."
Other pickups have stirred controversy, including a high school student from Brazil on his way to Volleyball practice in Massachusetts. Originally looking for the student's father, ICE agents detained Marcelo Gomes da Silva, who was arrested after discovering his student visa had expired.
“What I refuse to do is take this notion that we need to be knocking on doors or arresting children or going into daycare 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 if their a U.S. citizen or not," Tony said. “It’s not within our purview and it’s not within our responsibility, and I won’t participate in it.”
