“Federal Policy Drives Illegal Immigrant Crime and Victimization,” says Fla. Sheriff after Busting Human Trafficking Ring

No American state, not even Republican-led Florida with its strict law to mitigate the negative impact of record-breaking illegal immigration, can escape the detrimental effects of the Biden administration’s catastrophic open border policies. A major human trafficking operation recently busted by a multi-agency task force in central Florida helps illustrate that illegal aliens are not just victimizing communities that offer them sanctuary. The problem is spreading nationwide, even to areas where local governments do not welcome illegal aliens or shield them from federal authorities.

In central Florida’s Polk County, which has a population of around 780,000, authorities just dismantled a largescale human trafficking ring that resulted in the arrest of hundreds, including 21 illegal immigrants, involved in acts related to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, or aiding and abetting prostitutes. Authorities coined it “Operation March Sadness 2024” and recently confirmed that more than a dozen of the 66 identified prostitutes were likely human trafficking victims. Law enforcement officials issued 70 felony charges and 288 misdemeanors and the suspects’ criminal histories include a combined 879 felonies and 1,150 misdemeanors. At least 11 suspects told detectives they receive government assistance. Illegal drugs such as fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine were also seized in the sting as well as 17 firearms. The eldest person was 73 and youngest 16, officials say.

The illegal immigrants arrested in the operation are recent arrivals from Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. During a televised press conference Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd blasts the federal government for failing to enforce immigration laws. During the segment the sheriff, who oversees a force of about 1,800, introduced a poster board from the podium with mug shots of the illegal immigrant suspects and silhouettes of several victims also in the U.S. illegally so they could not be identified. Above the mugshots, in large black letters the poster read: “Federal Policy Drives Illegal Immigrant Crime and Victimization.” Grady pointed to one of the suspects on the board and provided a larger mug shot for the media, explaining that he came from New York with three females who are controlled by a human trafficker that sets up their appointments, posts ads online and tells them where to go. The prostitutes then fly to major metro centers where they set up their appointments for sex, said the sheriff, who was first elected in 2004 and has been reelected four times since. “We have a crisis at the border,” Sheriff Judd said. “And because of the crisis at the border we have people that are victimizing illegal folks, forcing them into the sex trade because we allow these criminals in the country illegally.”

Unlike a growing number of law enforcement agencies nationwide that have adopted sanctuary policies, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) fully cooperates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when it encounters criminal illegal immigrants in its jurisdiction or jails. Under a partnership known as 287(g), PCSO honors ICE detainers and notifies the federal agency of inmates in the country illegally so that they can be deported. A few years ago, PCSO enlisted in a collaborative federal initiative, known as Warrant Service Officer (WSO) program, that expands the immigration enforcement powers of local police after training officers to perform certain duties typically carried out by federal immigration agents. “The WSO program will protect communities from criminal aliens who threaten vulnerable populations with violence, drugs and gang activity by allowing partner jurisdictions the flexibility to make immigration arrests in their jail or correctional facility,” Acting ICE Director Matthew Albence said when the program was launched in 2019.

To further deter illegal immigrants from coming to the Sunshine State, Florida also passed a law banning sanctuary cities in the entire state. The measure also requires local police to fully comply with federal immigration authorities and authorizes law enforcement agencies to transport an alien unlawfully present in the U.S. under certain circumstances. Public universities and colleges must also abide by the law. Even with the strict measures, it appears Florida cannot escape the wrath of the unprecedented illegal immigration crisis created by the Biden administration.