Florida sheriffs take on ICE over 'uncooperative' list

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The Florida Sheriff's Association is taking on the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division (ICE) after it began posting a list of law enforcement agencies it says do not obey requests to detain certain criminals -- namely illegal immigrants.  

The list was created by President Donald Trump through an executive order and is published every week on a six-week lag. It calls out law enforcement agencies that allegedly don't cooperate with detainer requests. But sheriff's offices in Florida say there's more to the story than what the list implies.

“We support and cooperate with ICE in their efforts to identify and deport criminal aliens,” said Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, during a news conference on Tuesday. “However, we also swear under oath to protect, support, and defend the U.S. Constitution. We are here to serve our communities and our country, and are simply asking for enhanced information sharing between federal, state, and local law enforcement regarding illegal immigrants.”

"Somebody could walk in this door right now, walk up to me and say, 'I am here illegally.' There is nothing I can do about it because I don't have jurisdiction over it," Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County.  "We ask the [Department of Homeland Security] to stop issuing this report, and stop misrepresenting to the public and citizens that we are not cooperating with them."

On its website, ICE states, "The report is intended to provide the public with information regarding criminal actions committed by aliens and any jurisdiction that ignores detainers."

To view the most recent list, visit https://www.ice.gov/doclib/ddor/ddor2017_02-04to02-10.pdf

Some information taken from FOX13News.com.