Sheriffs in Florida are working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify and remove criminals who are in the country illegally.
“There is no room for discussion about those who are in this country illegally, who are victimizing our citizens, who are committing crimes, who are disobeying our laws. These people need to go, and they need to go today,” said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
The Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) announced Monday that every county jail throughout the state will operate under ICE's 287(g) programs. The programs allow ICE to delegate immigration enforcement duties to local law enforcement.
“There’s a number of ways that sheriffs and other local law enforcement agencies can help ICE and we should help ICE because ICE does not have the resources to do it alone,” Gualtieri said.
The 287(g) program includes three different models. One is the Warrant Service Officer program, where officers within the jails will be trained and certified to serve warrant detainers when someone who is in the country illegally is booked.
“If they have a detainer on them ICE is notified. When that person is ready to leave the jail, our staff can serve that warrant on them and hold them for an extra 48 hours, and ICE comes and takes them into custody,” said Bill Prummell, Charlotte County Sheriff and FSA President.
The program will be up and running in Florida jails in the next 15 to 30 days. However, there are resource concerns due to the lack of space in some county jails.
“We’ve got to have the federal government create capacity. Last week, I had 30 beds. The [Pinellas County] sheriff has them sleeping on the floor,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Another program under 287(g) that officers will receive training on in the future is the street task force.
It allows state and local law enforcement to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties. It was stopped in 2012 after a Department of Justice Investigation found widespread racial profiling.
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