Trump-allied Florida police chief calls for way to regularize immigrants without criminal records

One of Florida’s most prominent and hardline police chiefs said Tuesday that Congress should find a way for migrants who entered the country illegally and have integrated into society to remain. Grady Judd, sheriff of Polk County, east of Tampa in the central part of the peninsula, said he plans to request more specific guidance from the Trump administration on which migrants should be prioritized in the federal government’s deportation push.

“There has to be a path forward for those who are doing good but crossed into this country illegally, violating a civil federal law [...] If Congress would do their job, and they haven’t, and deal with this group, then it frees us up to focus on those that are committing crime,” said Judd, a staunch ally of Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis, who leads the State Immigration Law Enforcement Council, composed of eight police chiefs appointed by the state’s Republican leaders.

Judd made the remarks at a press conference following reports that some sheriffs at a council meeting on Monday had suggested a change in position. “Any allusion that we’re not supporting the president or the government is absolutely false,” he was quick to clarify. “What President Trump is doing with illegal immigration is right and what Governor Ron DeSantis is doing is right.”

However, the statements point to a pragmatism that questions both what is viable and what is fair in Trump’s immigration policy, at a time when the White House has privately asked Republican lawmakers to moderate their rhetoric on mass deportations, according to numerous national media reports. In Florida, one of the strongholds of Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, the debate highlights the tension between the hardline stance and the reality on the ground.

Florida has fostered close collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), built detention centers with ominous names, and pressured local law enforcement agencies to enter into 287(g) agreements with the federal government. DeSantis created the State Immigration Law Enforcement Council last year to advise on the matter and keep federal authorities informed about what is happening in practice.

And that is precisely what Judd says he is doing. The council does not have the power to dictate policy, but can only offer feedback based on what they see on the ground, he explained. According to local media reports, during Monday’s meeting, the police chiefs agreed on the need to more clearly define deportation priorities and discussed the tensions between the political objective of mass expulsions and the reality faced by those carrying them out. Judd suggested requesting further guidance from Trump to establish more precise criteria, especially regarding migrants without criminal records.

“One hundred percent of the members present [at Monday’s meeting] agreed that we must find a way forward for those who are doing things right,” Judd said Tuesday. The underlying problem, he asserted, is the lack of legislative action, pointing out that the current immigration system, with few legal pathways to entry, has contributed to the situation.

Law enforcement resources should be focused on those who commit crimes or pose a threat, he said, while other cases require a different approach. “There is not one right answer to every circumstance,” he added. “Our purpose is to provide input, to do research for the immigration enforcement board and to send it to them. It is not to make decisions for them. It is not to direct them.” According to the sheriff, 76% of immigration detentions requested by his office are linked to criminal charges, while the remainder are mostly incidental arrests.

Judd avoided using terms like “amnesty” and presented his remarks as a matter of common sense. Migrants without criminal records “are helping the economy. They are helping the community. They are adding to the wonderful society that we have in the United States.” “We can’t deal with 10 to 18 million people at one time. All we’re doing is setting priorities,” he added.

The office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a key figure in implementing the state’s immigration agenda, responded to a request for comment: “If people are here illegally, then they are breaking the law, and we are going to enforce it.”

One of the council members, Sheriff T.K. Waters of Jacksonville, was not present at Monday’s meeting. In an email to EL PAÍS, Waters said he did not participate in the call and does not share or endorse “the comments made by others.”

Judd emphasized that illegal entry remains a violation of the law, but suggested that some immigrants could “pay a fine.” “There are people who need to leave, but there are others who don’t,” he added.

Even so, the sheriff insisted that this is not a change of course and defended the role of federal agencies. “I want to make it abundantly clear that we in Florida law enforcement wholeheartedly support ICE. We fully cooperate with them and they fully cooperate with us,” he said.

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