Overview
- Republican sheriffs on Florida’s State Immigration Enforcement Council said undocumented immigrants without criminal records should not be targeted for removal and agreed to draft a letter urging President Trump and Congress to narrow deportations.
- Council chair Grady Judd, a longtime conservative ally, described the stance as grounded in on-the-ground experience and called for alternatives like civil fines, English requirements and barring public benefits for noncriminal immigrants.
- The White House sent Sens. Susan Collins and Katie Britt a proposal to codify operational guidelines including broader DHS body-camera use, limits on actions at schools and hospitals, stronger detention oversight and visible officer identification, while leaving out Democratic demands on masks and judicial warrants.
- Officials publicly insist enforcement policy is unchanged despite reports that political director James Blair urged House Republicans to emphasize removing violent offenders rather than promoting “mass deportations.”
- Reporting indicates deportation operations are expanding with major new resources and a goal of about 1 million removals this year, as DHS leadership shifts from Kristi Noem to nominee Markwayne Mullin and polls show many Americans view recent tactics as too aggressive.