The Broward County sheriff and the Florida attorney general exchanged letters on Monday about immigration law enforcement.
Sheriff Gregory Tony and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier copied Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed them both.
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“I won’t participate in it,” Tony told Broward commissioners about immigration law enforcement during a budget workshop on June 3.
In his letter, Tony listed three agreements that BSO entered into with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including the most recent 287 (g) task force with trained deputies.
“BSO has been complying, and will continue to comply, with our obligations under these agreements,” Tony wrote in the letter.
Tony referred to undocumented migrants as “unauthorized aliens” and Uthmeier, who shared his letter demanding a clarification on X, referred to them as “illegal aliens.”
During the workshop, Tony said publicly that BSO “has other priorities ... and immigration is not one of them ... not within our purview ... not within our responsibility.”
Uthmeier sent the first letter asking Tony to clarify if he was referring to state immigration statutes.
“I would hope your statements were mere political posturing, but if not, your expressed positions would constitute a failure of your statutory obligation,” Uthmeier wrote.
Both Tony and Uthmeier cited cases. Tony cited the recent arrests of nine MS-13 gang members.
Uthmeier mentioned the case of Carlos Jose Abreau, a native of the Dominican Republic who pleaded guilty to voter fraud and gun charges after living under a stolen identity for nearly two decades.