While speaking at a news conference in Bradenton, Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed back on Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and other sheriffs on the State Immigration Enforcement Council for recently suggesting that immigrants who are not criminals should be allowed to stay in the United States under certain requirements.
"I stand with following Florida's policies. You can't have a situation where Biden can bring in 10 million people, and then we're not allowed to remove them back to their home county," DeSantis said. "This idea that unless you're an axe murderer you should be able to say, that is not consistent with our laws, and it's also not good policy."
Judd, a Republican and a supporter of President Donald Trump, advocated for a path forward for illegal immigrants who haven't committed crimes, calling on authorities to instead focus on criminal illegal immigrants, during the Council's meeting earlier this week. He also hinted at sending a letter to President Trump and other high-profile Republicans for a more targeted approach to immigration enforcement, although no letter has been made public.
Judd later clarified his comments during a news conference.
"Make no mistake about it, any illusion that we're not supporting the president or the government is absolutely false," Judd said. However, Judd didn't exactly step back from his stance.
"If Congress would do their job and deal with this group, then it frees us up to focus on those that are committing crime, those that are dangerous, those that are violent," Judd added.
Gov. DeSantis signed a sweeping package of anti-illegal immigration measures into law last year and has led on the state's cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including reimbursement checks for personnel to use in their duties.
Notably, Gov. DeSantis created the State Immigration Council, which is comprised of four sheriffs and four police chiefs, including Judd, who is the Chair of the Council. The members were also appointed by state GOP leaders.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters was not present during the Council's meeting and later indicated he did not agree with his colleagues on a shift in policy.
"We have different people that our victimized by illegal aliens every day in this country. Not all of them have criminal records at the time; in fact, probably most of them don't. But under some view, it's like okay, you come illegally, but then you stay until you commit a really violent crime," DeSantis continued. "That just doesn't work, it's incoherent and it's not what the President ran on."
