ORLANDO, Fla — The Trump administration has made it clear that undocumented immigrants in this country will be deported, but sheriffs in central Florida are saying that is not happening as promised.
Now the State Immigration Enforcement Council is sounding the alarm.
9 Investigates has been looking into some arrests after finding several cases where illegal immigrants were taken into custody and not detained.
In April, when we told you about Paula Hernandez Lazaro was arrested after a crash with a Belle Isle police officer. According to the report, she did not have a license nor legal status in the U.S. and entered the country illegally.
She was taken to jail but then released.
The State Immigration Enforcement Council says cases like that are happening all over the state because of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Last week, the council passed a resolution asking the governor and other state officials to meet with Trump administration officials. The council would like a federal executive order making it easier for law enforcement to detain and hold all undocumented immigrants and not just those who have committed major crimes.
But that would mean having places to hold them until the migrants are deported.
The number of migrants in Florida who have been deported since January is unclear. The government has not been forthcoming about the actual number of deportations happening in this state or any other.
But even if that did happen, there is no infrastructure right now for the state to hold everyone they pick up. That means right now the state can’t crack down as hard as it said it would.
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