A Florida sheriff is fighting back illegal immigration by sharing a bold statement with those in the country illegally ahead of President-elect Trump’s inauguration.
“And I leave with this message: ‘South and down.’ Do it yourself. You can get deported and avoid a lot of jail time, but the weather is going south.” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd he said during a press conference on Wednesday.
He joined Grady Governor Ron DeSantis and several other local and state officials during a press conference held in Winter Haven to discuss actions to combat illegal immigration.
Judd said cracking down on illegal immigration would help reduce crime.
FLORIDA PROPOSAL WOULD BAR ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN THE US FROM ATTENDING CERTAIN COLLEGES
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd (Polk County Sheriff’s Office)
“Florida should be an example to other states and support the president [Trump] to get rid of these criminals who are abusing our people,” Judd said.
During the press conference, Judd also shared several specific examples of crimes involving illegal immigrants, including cases of murder, DUI and organized theft.
DeSantis echoed Judd and said he was confident a second Trump administration would take swift action against the outgoing Biden administration immigration policy.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pledged to help President-elect Trump crack down on illegal immigration. (Getty Images)
“We in Florida have a sense of urgency to accomplish this mission,” DeSantis said. “The mission is very simple: we must end the illegal immigration crisis once and for all in this United States of America.”
Florida has sued the Biden administration on several different occasions, including over its “illegal” catch-and-release policy at the southern border and, most recently, its alleged refusal to help the state remove noncitizens from voter rolls in the 2024 election.
FLORIDA HUMAN TRAFFICKING CAUSES 157 PEOPLE, INCLUDING 25 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Then-President Trump greets Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis during a campaign rally on October 31, 2018, in Estero, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
DeSantis has scheduled a special session to begin the week after Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration to fund efforts to address illegal immigration, including detention and resettlement. The governor said the state needs to back Trump’s promises to crack down on illegal immigration and make sure “we don’t have long-term incentives for people to come into our state illegally.”
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In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump thanked DeSantis for calling the special session, saying “he hopes other governors will follow suit!”
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Tips and story ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
