Uthmeier Demands Rebellious Broward County Sheriff Support ICE Raids

Days after Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony refused to join the "cesspool" of tracking down unauthorized migrants, Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday demanded he clarify his stance and promise to uphold a contested new immigration law.

If not, Tony could be removed from office, Uthmeier added at the end of a lengthy letter sent Monday morning.

He referred to a sweeping new immigration law—parts of which have been temporarily blocked in federal court—requiring local sheriffs to partner with federal immigration authorities and allowing state charges to be brought against migrants illegally in Florida.

"I would hope your statements were mere political posturing, but if not, your expressed positions would constitute a failure of your statutory obligation to utilize 'best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law,'" Uthmeier wrote, quoting from Florida statute.

"Florida law and policy prioritize removing illegal aliens from our communities. So must you," he insisted.

Uthmeier lost an appeal last week to overturn a court order blocking part of that new immigration law, SB-4, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in February. The Friday ruling kept in place a lower court order temporarily banning police from arresting and charging immigrants in the state illegally, the Miami Herald reported.

But that hasn't stopped the state's chief law enforcement officer from telling independent Florida authorities, like the state Highway Patrol, that the order doesn't apply to them, urging the continued arrests of undocumented migrants.

But the same day of the court ruling, Tony, the sheriff of the county with the most active Democratic voters, assured city commissioners that his office is "not playing in that cesspool."

He responded to one concerned commissioner questioning which resources have been allocated to help federal immigration authorities, noting that a Massachusetts teen was arrested by ICE on his way to volleyball practice.

"In short, no, we're not playing in that cesspool," Tony began. "The patch on our sleeve says Broward County; we're not ICE, we're not immigration, 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."

While Broward has complied with SB-4's federal inmate processing requirements, Tony doesn't plan on increasing manpower to assist in locating and arresting illegal immigrants. He says law enforcement should focus on the criminal components, not the administrative ones.

"We have other priorities in this community that I'm focused on, and immigration is not one of them," Tony continued. "I don't care what country you're from. If you commit a crime in this county, I'm coming for you.

"But 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 they're U.S. citizens or not," he added.

SB-4, now partially tied up in court, was borne from viciously rare disagreements between Republican lawmakers—the first of its kind under Gov. Ron DeSantis. In January, DeSantis pressured the legislature to pass stringent anti-illegal immigration laws to align with newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump's agenda.

But legislative leaders rebelled, killing DeSantis's immigration bills before passing their own, titled "The TRUMP Act." DeSantis, in turn, vetoed it, sending lawmakers back to Tallahassee to pass a compromise bill cracking down on illegal immigration.

And in February, after weeks of disagreements and brutal insults hurled from the governor to GOP lawmakers and vice versa, SB-4 was signed into law.

Its other provisions include repealing in-state tuition for undocumented college students and mandating the death penalty for illegal immigrants who commit a capital crime.