The newly formed Florida State Immigration Control Council has requested that President Donald Trump implement additional measures to allow state police to expedite the removal of undocumented immigrants, including those without criminal records or deportation orders, according to a report published Tuesday by USA Today.
Grady Judd, the council’s president, stated during a meeting on Monday that “it is crucial” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to revise its current policy and “create proactive rules that enable Florida’s local and state law enforcement to help ICE reach its full deportation potential,” as cited by the newspaper.
Comprised of eight members—all local and county police chiefs—the council focused its first meeting on the frustrations and obstacles officers have faced in assisting ICE and the Trump administration in fulfilling its mass deportation agenda.
Judd, who also serves as the sheriff of Polk County in central Florida, voiced his dissatisfaction to council members, which was established in February alongside the State Immigration Control Board.
According to USA Today, sheriffs and police chiefs expressed frustration with the White House after it blocked the state’s efforts to authorize all 67 county jails to hold foreigners allegedly in the country without documentation.
ICE faces a shortage of beds to hold undocumented immigrants but must comply with federal law to award contracts.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has championed the strict immigration measures approved by the Legislature and leads the newly created board, to which the council reports.
The Florida Legislature allocated approximately $250 million for the board to distribute to local agencies and organizations to support these detention initiatives. EFE
Image: ElSol
