March 17, 2026<\/p>\n
T.K. Waters, the Jacksonville sheriff and member of Florida\u2019s anti-illegal immigration council, is pushing back against GOP law enforcement officials who are resisting President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not on the call referenced and do not share or endorse the comments made by others. Our focus remains on enforcing the law and continuing our mission to make Jacksonville a safer place for all residents,\u201d Waters said in a statement to the Phoenix.<\/p>\n
He referred to a meeting Monday of the Florida Immigration Enforcement Council, made up of four sheriffs and four police chiefs appointed by GOP state leaders to shape hardline immigration policy. At least six of the Republican officials \u2014 in a shock move from the nation\u2019s most aggressive anti-illegal immigration state \u2014 criticized<\/a> deporting undocumented immigrants who hadn\u2019t committed crimes.<\/p>\n They were so critical that Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri brainstormed drafting a letter to Trump, the U.S. House Speaker, and the Senate majority leader asking that they restrict the undocumented immigrants targeted for deportation.<\/p>\n Others agreed that too \u201cwide of a net\u201d had been cast and that Congress needed to \u201cget off their butts \u2026 and fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n Although this was a massive departure from the all-out deportation mindset long championed by Florida Republicans, it falls in line with the Trump administration\u2019s new behind-the-scenes push toward exclusively targeting violent unauthorized offenders.<\/p>\n But Waters, a top ally to the governor, doubled down on his support for mass deportations. He was the only member of the council, created last year, who wasn\u2019t on the Microsoft Teams meeting on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cAs 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have participated in illegal immigration enforcement long before it was mandated for other Florida counties. The 287(g) program was established in Duval County in 2008. In the past two years alone, we have processed 1,289 illegal immigrants for removal proceedings, all of whom committed crimes in our county.\u201d<\/p>\n The present members of the council did agree that undocumented immigrants innocent of additional crimes shouldn\u2019t be given \u201ca free pass.\u201d They suggested civil fines, orders to send their kids to school, and mandatory English lessons, adding that Congress should look for an additional path to citizenship for these individuals.<\/p>\n