JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters is distancing himself from comments made by other law enforcement leaders on Florida’s State Immigration Enforcement Council.
Members of the council agreed to write a letter to President Donald Trump and Congressional leaders on Monday, calling for a shift in the federal mass deportation strategy and a pathway to citizenship for people in the country illegally who have not committed additional crimes in the US.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
“And I don’t mean give them a free pass. I mean, you go hey, we’re gonna give you five years and you’ve got to learn to speak English, you’ve got to pay a fine for coming into the country illegally, a civil fine and you’ve got to not be on the taxpayer dollars and you’ve got to work and you’ve got to put your kids in school,” said Council Chair and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd during the meeting Monday.
Maria Garcia with the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance argued the shift in tone is especially noteworthy, as the council members were appointed by the Governor and other Republican state leaders.
“And you know, this is something we have been saying all along was going to happen. When you turn every traffic stop into a potential immigration situation, deportation situation, you destroy trust in your community, witnesses stop coming forward, victims stop reporting crimes,” Garcia said.
Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters, who serves on the council, was notably absent during Monday’s meeting.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
In a statement, he distanced himself from the other council members’ comments.
He “does not share or endorse” them.
“As Sheriff, I want to reaffirm that our agency has and always will work hand-in-hand with our state and federal partners to uphold the laws and priorities established by our elected leaders,” Waters wrote in part. “I was not on the call referenced and do not share or endorse the comments made by others.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also responded to the council’s discussion when asked about it on Tuesday.
Uthmeier outright said he “does not support the letter”.
“If somebody is here illegally in this country, they have broken the law,” Uthmeier said.
Sheriff Waters noted his agency has processed 1,289 illegal immigrants for removal over the past two years, and added that “all of them” committed crimes in our country.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
