Florida Sheriff Grady Judd has raised concerns about the capacity constraints hampering Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, citing the limited detention capabilities of ICE. While the sheriff affirmed support for the administration’s stance on prioritizing deporting undocumented immigrants, he emphasized the significant bottleneck presented by the lack of adequate detention infrastructure. Judd pointed out the challenges posed by federal regulations, which prevent local jails from holding migrants for extended periods without specific agreements, thereby limiting the ability of local law enforcement to assist in prolonged detentions. The sheriff highlighted the readiness of Florida to offer temporary housing solutions for detainees but criticized the federal government’s reluctance to provide necessary resources.
Fox News Digital spoke with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd on the current status of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Judd said, ‘We heard President Trump loud and clear when he said start with the worst first, and let’s get these illegal aliens out of the country.’ However, the sheriff pointed to a significant bottleneck: the lack of federal capacity to detain migrants, and that, despite arrests, ‘they’re turned [migrants] back into the street’ due to ICE’s limited resources. Judd also highlighted the lack of holding facilities, noting that federal rules generally prevent local jails from holding migrants for more than 48 hours after their release from local custody unless the jails have Intergovernmental Service Agreements (IGSAs) that allow for longer detention under federal authority.
Judd explained that county jails can hold migrants short term if they have accompanying criminal charges, but they cannot hold them long term. ‘We’re more than willing to do that with the federal government once the federal government recognizes that we’re helping them — they’re not helping us,’ he said. The need for additional detention space and resources came as the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) became the first in the nation to train and deploy troopers under the federal 287(g) agreement, which authorizes designated state officers to enforce immigration law in partnership with federal agents.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the initiative, stating it is already delivering results and could serve as a blueprint for other states seeking to take immigration enforcement into their own hands. Judd called for federal executive action, saying, ‘The president is the only one that can break this logjam.’ The sheriff mentioned Florida’s willingness to implement practical solutions, such as setting up temporary ‘soft side housing’ for detainees, modeled after hurricane emergency shelters.
‘We’re eager to make it happen. We’re sitting on go,’ he said, while criticizing the lack of support. ‘The federal government doesn’t have the infrastructure to hold them, nor are they willing to pay when we offer the infrastructure.’ Judd defended ICE personnel, acknowledging their efforts despite what he describes as inherited limitations from the previous Biden administration. ‘But they are limited,’ he said. ‘They’re severely limited because they’re operating with the resources that the Biden administration left them with. And the Biden administration wasn’t into deporting people. They were into importing people.’
The sheriff said stricter detention policies will serve as a deterrent for migrants. ‘We’ve got to stop the game playing, and only the federal government can do it,’ he said. Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE for comment.