Nationwide — Gregory Tony, an African American sheriff in Broward County, Florida, said his deputies will not pursue undocumented immigrants who have not committed crimes. His stance drew immediate threats of legal action from the state’s attorney general.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier warned Tony in a letter that he could face a lawsuit or even removal from office. Uthmeier accused him of violating state law that requires local agencies to support federal immigration enforcement.
According to Florida Phoenix, the conflict started when Tony told county commissioners that his office, which covers 12 cities in South Florida, will not assign more deputies to immigration raids. He said his priority is public safety, not rounding up immigrants with no criminal records.
“When it comes to immigration, I don’t care what country you’re from. If you commit a crime in this county, I’m coming for you,” Tony said. “But what I refuse to do is take this notion that we need to be knocking on doors, or arresting children, or going into daycare centers or restaurants and taking and snatching people off the streets who have been paying taxes and contributing to this society in some positive form.”
Broward County has two agreements with ICE under the 287(g) program. One involves screening people already in jail, while the other allows task force operations on the streets. Tony noted his agency assigned only two staff members to these programs, a decision that drew sharp criticism from Uthmeier.
In his response, Tony pointed to past cooperation with federal authorities, including joint efforts to arrest MS-13 gang members. He said his office continues to work with ICE on criminal cases but will not devote resources to mass deportation efforts.
Florida leads the country in ICE task force agreements, a policy heavily promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis. Uthmeier, who previously worked as DeSantis’ chief of staff, has also sent similar threats to local leaders who oppose the governor’s push for aggressive immigration enforcement.
At the same time, Uthmeier is facing scrutiny of his own. A federal judge is considering holding him in contempt after he dismissed a court order blocking a new immigration law as illegitimate. His attorneys argue he has no authority over sheriffs or police chiefs.