James Uthmeier warns Broward Sheriff: enforce immigration laws or be removed

Attorney General James Uthmeier says Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony must enforce U.S. immigration laws, including arresting “illegal aliens (who) are responsible for horrific crimes,” or face removal from office.

In a sharply worded letter posted to X, Uthmeier demanded clarification on Tony’s recent remarks about immigration enforcement.

He called Tony’s statements, made during a June 3 budget workshop, “problematic,” accusing the Sheriff of refusing to fulfill his legal duties.

During the workshop, Tony said the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) “has other priorities” that he is “focused on, and immigration is not one of them.” He added that arresting undocumented immigrants is “not within our purview, it’s not within our responsibility, and I won’t participate in it.”

Uthmeier blasted Tony’s comments in the June 9 letter.

“I would hope your statements were mere political posturing, but if not, your expressed positions would constitute a failure of your statutory obligation,” he wrote, citing a Florida Statute mandating that law enforcement agencies “use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law.”

That amounts to more than just symbolic cooperation, he said, noting that “Florida’s ‘best efforts’ law means what it says — the law isn’t satisfied by entering agreements you have no intention of fulfilling.”

Uthmeier highlighted specific cases of violence by immigrants in Broward to make his point. He pointed to Dominican national Carlos Jose Abreau, who pleaded guilty in March to voter fraud and gun charges after living under a stolen identity for nearly 20 years. He also cited a December 2024 human smuggling incident involving a Bahamian citizen and 11 Chinese migrants, and the arrest of a Brazilian national for sexual assault in Deerfield Beach.

“These and other heinous crimes by illegal aliens in Broward County must be stopped,” Uthmeier wrote. “Given these realities, it is unclear to me why ‘immigration’ wouldn’t be one of your priorities.”

He noted that BSO receives 55.7% of Broward’s $765 million local agency budget.

“I venture to suggest that there is room … to abide by state law, cooperate fully with the federal government, and protect Florida citizens from illegal aliens,” he wrote. “Florida law and policy prioritize removing illegal aliens from our communities.”

Uthmeier demanded Tony “immediately clarify your remarks” and affirm an intent to comply with state immigration statutes, warning that failure to do so could result in legal consequences or removal.

A longer quote from Tony’s comments provides more nuance and clarity on the Sheriff’s immigration enforcement position.

“It’s important for us as law enforcement practitioners to focus on the criminal components, not administrative components, when it comes to immigration,” Tony said at the time.

“I don’t care what country you’re from; if you commit a crime in this country or commit a crime in this county, I’m coming for you. But what I refuse to do is take this notion that we need to be knocking on doors or arresting children or going into day care centers or restaurants and taking and snatching people off these streets who have been paying taxes and contributing to this society in some positive form, regardless of if they’re a U.S. citizen or not.”

Notably, both Tony and Uthmeier came to their current positions through appointments by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who named the Sheriff — a Democrat — to his job in 2019 and Uthmeier — a Republican — to his post this past January.

Uthmeier cc’d DeSantis in the letter.