I’m not going to belabor the point that immigration is a federal issue and local governments have no authority to intervene on the issue under any circumstance. What you might be surprised to know is that less than half of Florida fully complies with federal authority on the issue. Only 29 of 67 counties in Florida have full ICE detainer agreements in place and in SouthFlorida,only Monroe County operates with one.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw has stated multiple times that Palm Beach County isn’t a “Sanctuary County”, but then you have cities like West Palm Beach, not covered by PBSO, that have taken action at the city level to not fully comply with federal authority on the issue. West Palm Beach declared itself a “welcoming city”.
A new bill advanced in the state Senate would put an end to local governments attempting to usurp federal authority on this issue. Yesterday, on a 4-2 vote, the committee passed bill SB 168, which bans local governments from non-compliance with ICE detainer requests.The proposal is widely supported by law enforcement but not by the ACLU. The partisan rhetoric is also ramping up on this one as it’s advancing.
I’ll be crystal clear. Not only should this bill become law in Florida, but if I were AG, I’d prosecute every local official who obstructs justice by taking action not to comply with federal law.