Former President Trump said in interviews that he wanted to conduct immigration roundups if re-elected in 2024. The sheriff’s offices in Broward and Palm Beach countries announced that they will not be participating in roundups of undocumented immigrants. The current sheriffs, Gregory Tony of Broward and Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County, as well as the candidates who are hoping to replace them in this year’s elections confirmed that their counties would not participate in the immigration roundups. Bradshaw stated that immigrant enforcement is “mainly the federal government’s responsibility, not local law enforcement.” The sheriffs want to build trust with their communities instead of creating concern.
Although the current and candidate sheriffs said that undocumented immigrants do commit crimes, they also stated that there is no evidence that population commits crimes at a higher rate than others. There may be skewed perception of this due the political issue of undocumented immigrants. Sheriffs in Broward and Palm Beach are informed on the issue of undocumented immigrants; however, they do not agree with Trump’s idea of deportation roundups within their community. The Broward and Palm Beach officials will continue to build trust and support within their communities.
