WINTER HAVEN, Fla. —  Sheriffs from across the state are taking steps to address illegal immigration. 

On Monday, members of the Florida Sheriffs Association gathered in Polk County to announce updates on 287(g) compliance.

Three programs under this provision will allow local authorities to assist with immigration enforcement — both in jails and on the streets.

This means deputies and correction officers will be able to make probable-cause arrests, participate in street task forces, and issue warrants.

Sixty-seven memorandums of agreement have been officially signed for all of Florida’s county jails. This allows staff to issue warrants for undocumented immigrants, notifying ICE when they are arrested and booked.

“So these people are deported and not released back into the community to commit more crimes,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

Sheriff Gualtieri helped lead the conversation about immigration. The issue hits close to home for him, as a man who was deported twice to Honduras killed one of his deputies in 2022 in a construction incident. Gualtieri says incidents like this are why ICE needs assistance from local authorities.

“Because it keeps clearly bad people from getting back on the street where ICE has to spend resources, and we have to help them go find these people,” he said. “It’s also safer for the ICE officers to take these people into custody from the jail.”

To ensure deputies and corrections officers are prepared, Gualtieri says they will undergo four hours of training for the warrant-service program. Other training sessions will take about five days.

Once the programs are up and running, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says the biggest hurdle will be bed space. He says ICE only has 2,000 beds throughout Florida, and they’re all full.

“There is no capacity in the sheriff’s or the county jails of this state to make any negligible difference. We’ve got to have the federal government make capacity,” Sheriff Judd said. “That’s why we’re here making this statement today, and the federal government knows this. They have to create capacity. We can bring them all the business they can handle and more.”

In the meantime, Sheriff Judd is leaving undocumented immigrants with two options.

“It’s time to leave the country. You can leave by yourself or you can leave in handcuffs,” he said.

The Florida Sheriffs Association expects operations to begin within the next 15 to 30 days. As of now, members say the plan for training will remain fluid.

Spectrum News talked about that with immigration attorney Danielle Hernandez about the new changes. Hernandez has been on both sides of this issue. She represented the government in some immigration cases and now represents immigrants.

Hernandez fears that under the updated provision, deputies may stop people simply because of the color of their skin, which she believes violates the Constitution.

“I don't know where the probable cause will come from. People need to remember the Constitution of the United States protects every single individual irrespective of their status in this country,” she said. “It does not matter who you are or what your background is. The police need probable cause to just stop you to determine whether you have broken the law or not.”

Hernandez is afraid that this might lead to people of color in this country legally being harassed by local law enforcement. However, the sheriffs say their focus is on undocumented immigrants who are also committing other crimes.