Florida Governor Jim De Santis signed a bill into law on Friday that outlaws sanctuary cities in the state of Florida.
What this means quite simply that no city or county can set themselves up to protect illegal aliens and any city or country official that tries to establish such on their own can be removed from office by the governor and can be subject to criminal penalties.
I would think that should they release anyone with an ICE detainer against them and they go on to commit, say, a murder, that official could be charged as an accessory before the fact.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, there are currently no sanctuary cities in the state of Florida, but Alachua County has declared itself to be a sanctuary county.
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said in a February 2017 blogpost that he would “have no hesitation in declaring St. Petersburg a sanctuary from harmful federal immigration laws,” but a spokesman clarified a few days later that Kriseman had meant only that it was a sanctuary “in spirit.” The sheriff of Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg, added that the county was not “and will not be a ‘sanctuary county’ for people who commit crimes. Regardless of statements made for political purposes.”
On Friday, DeSantis signed a bill that would require “state entities, local government entities, and law enforcement agencies to use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law.” It also specifically calls out “unlawful sanctuary policies.”
DeSantis said that the law was in the interest of “public safety.” He added that without the bill, illegal immigrants could commit crimes “and then just walk out the door and continue to do it.” This law was something that DeSantis had promised during his campaign.