Sheriffs Grady Judd, Bob Gualtieri tapped to advise Florida cabinet on immigration enforcement

Local sheriff's on Immigration Enforcement Council

FOX 13’s Evan Axelbank reports on Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri's appointment to advise the newly formed Florida Cabinet on immigration enforcement. The pair will provide insight and feedback on enforcing federal immigration law.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Two Bay Area sheriffs have been appointed to the newly created State Immigration Enforcement Council.

On Monday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri were tapped to advise the Florida Cabinet on immigration enforcement.

"It is unquestionably our best chance in probably decades (to solve the problem)," Sheriff Gualtieri said.

Judd and Gualtieri will join sheriffs and police chiefs from across Florida to advise the Florida cabinet on coordination with the Trump Administration to enforce federal immigration law.

What is the State Immigration Enforcement Council?

The backstory:

The State Immigration Enforcement Council was created by Senate Bill 2C, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last Thursday.

It is a body of appointed law enforcement officers who will assist the cabinet (State Board of Immigration Enforcement) by providing insight and feedback regarding the enforcement of federal immigration law.

READ: Keefe tapped to head immigration enforcement

The council is made up of eight members, including four police chiefs, with the governor, commissioner of agriculture, attorney general, and chief financial officer each appointing one police chief; and four sheriffs, with the president of the senate and the speaker of the house each appointing two sheriffs.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri side-by-side with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd were appointed to the newly created State Immigration Enforcement Council.

The council’s responsibilities include:

Requesting guidance from ICE for training opportunities and strategies to further federal 287(g) program participation.
Advising the Board on the efforts of local law enforcement agencies.
Providing recommendations on several issues, including: Any financial resources necessary to aid local law enforcement agencies; How to enhance information sharing between state agencies, local agencies, and federal data centers and units; Strategies to increase the number of available detention beds for use by the ICE.

"We can't eat this elephant in one bite," said Sheriff Judd.

Dig deeper:

The state only has 2,000 federal beds for deportation, and 1.2 million illegal immigrants.

"We're going to be, if you will, the subject-matter experts, and the researchers for most issues for the board," Judd shared. "If they're at odds, they'll tell us - go find the data."

They'll be focused on those who already have deportation warrants, but whose statutes are often unknown to local officers, even when an arrest is made.

They won't be worried about those who have only tried to claim asylum or who are here to work.

"The people who are the criminal illegals," said Gualtieri, "the people that are wreaking havoc in the communities, the people that are doing wrong, the people that are victimizing others, the people that are ended up in the jails and doing bad things in the community."

That will require changing ICE's procedures.

Local perspective:

The 2,000 beds are only in three locations around the state, with none of them anywhere near the Bay Area.

Sheriff Gualtieri says on any given day, there are between fifty and sixty people in their jail who also have ice detainers.

"There's a lot to put in place," said Gualtieri. "You need the infrastructure. You need the training. You need the processes. And so we need to work hard."

Big picture view:

Both sheriffs worked on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Commission, and say it's proof that the most complicated of problems can be tackled.

"If you do the right thing and bring the right data to the table, you can make positive change," Judd explained. "You can make people safer."

The state's new law requires all four members of the Florida cabinet to go along with any policy changes, a requirement that the two sheriffs we spoke to don't see as insurmountable.

The Source: This story was written with information provided by the Florida Senate and interviews conducted by FOX 13's Evan Axelbank.

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