Florida attorney general rejects sheriffs' push to scale back mass deportation efforts

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Tuesday rejected a striking effort among some of the state’s top sheriffs to soften immigration enforcement, saying he would not support their plan to formally urge Congress to scale back federal deportation policy.

At a news conference in Orlando, Uthmeier drew a firm line against a newly emerging stance from members of Florida’s State Immigration Enforcement Council, who on Monday broke with the state’s traditionally hardline approach and called for more leniency toward undocumented immigrants without criminal records.

“I don’t write the law — I enforce it,” Uthmeier said. “If people are here illegally, then they are breaking the law, and we are going to enforce it.”

The comments put Uthmeier squarely at odds with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and other council members, who suggested Monday that some undocumented immigrants — particularly those who are working, raising families and have no criminal history — should be allowed to remain in the country under certain conditions.

Judd, a longtime ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis and a key architect of Florida’s aggressive immigration posture, floated drafting a letter to President Donald Trump and congressional leaders urging a more targeted approach to deportations.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2026/03/17/attorney-general-uthmeier-grady-judd-immigration-enforcement-deportation/