One of Florida’s most well-known sheriffs is sounding the alarm that as more police officers and sheriff’s deputies are given federal immigration powers to arrest illegal aliens, the federal government will quickly run out of capacity.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told members of the State Board of Immigration Enforcement that part of the problem is while county jails have space for illegal immigrants, they are only supposed to hold them for up to 48 hours. If it is longer than two days, Judd said the national detention standard becomes “onerous” and state officials have “been at loggerheads” with ICE, according to NBC Miami.
‘When we put the pedal to the metal and get up to the speed limit, there is no way on God’s green earth they can handle this capacity.’
“We asked simply for a waiver that we could house these folks according to the Florida model jail standards. After all, if it’s good enough for those that are innocent until proven guilty, and they’re United States citizens, certainly those housing rules should be sufficient for those that are in this country illegally,” Judd continued.
While Florida has helped increase holding capacity for detainees with Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades, it is “a drop in the bucket.”
“The speed we’re operating at is like cruising down the road at 20 miles an hour. When we put the pedal to the metal and get up to the speed limit, there is no way on God’s green earth they can handle this capacity,” Judd added.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) made it clear he wants Florida to house people who are set to be deported quickly and not hold people for months at a time: “At the end of the day, the ability to house and process these illegals is the responsibility of the federal government. … I don’t think that’s what our role is. Our role is to assist with deportation.”
Judd said local police being able to arrest illegal aliens during their daily patrols will be “like shooting fish in a barrel” due to the large number of people not authorized to be in the United States who reside in Florida.
With participation in the 287(g) program being mandatory for law enforcement agencies in Florida, the SBIE said both the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Capitol Police are recent additions to the program.
The vast funds the Department of Homeland Security received in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to carry out mass deportations is supposed to help address the detention space shortage.
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