LARGO, FL (WFLA News) -- The Pinellas County Sheriff is the first local law enforcement office in the nation to join a program to work with federal immigration authorities to keep illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes, behind bars.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says 40 of his deputies will also be deputized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to execute arrest warrants on illegal immigrants already in jail on other charges. These effectively keep those individuals behind bars for 48 hours, giving the feds time to decide whether to take that person into custody and deport them.
Gualtieri says this policy shouldn't be controversial, because it only targets individuals who are already in jail for breaking other non-immigration laws.
"If you are here illegally, and you obey the laws of the state, none of this applies to you. But if you are here in the county illegally, and you commit crime, and you end up in a county jail or state prison, then we will...help ICE remove you from the United States."
ICE says in a release that this policy could help local law enforcement cooperate with the feds in jurisdictions with sanctuary policies. That won't be an issue in Florida, thanks to a bill expected to be signed by Governor DeSantis, but Gualtieri and other sheriffs say they've been restrained by court rulings prohibiting them from honoring ICE warrants.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Click below for the joint news conference with Gualtieri, other Florida sheriffs, and ICE: