Osceola Sheriff's Office Address Immigration Legislation at Critical Town Hall
As immigration policies continue to stir debate across Florida, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office is stepping into the conversation by hosting a highly anticipated town hall meeting Thursday at Gateway High School to address the sweeping concerns surrounding the role of law enforcement in the county.
With over 50% of Osceola County's population being Hispanic, the town hall meeting comes one month after Governor Desantis signed several immigration laws that aimed to carry out President Trump's deportation agenda.
'The law itself is difficult. It's messy and it's cruel,' said Maria Revelles, Co-Director of La Mesa Boricu.
During the meeting, the department highlighted two of the stricter immigration laws, such as SB 2-C, which would enhance punishment for unauthorized aliens, force law enforcement to notify the State of Attorney if a person in custody is on an immigration detainer, and SB-4C which would impose the death penalty if an unauthorized alien is guilty of a capital offense.
The meeting also detailed what can happen if a government agency does not comply with the law, like a forced suspension from office.
The Sheriff did say the department is lending a hand to ICE because it has been overwhelmed with immigration, and deputies will be focused on criminals and those that are a threat to public safety and they are not walking into schools and churches locking up people randomly and deporting them.
'It's not like they are just going to be throwing people out. Every situation. Every circumstance is going to be different. We're assisting them right now because they are overwhelmed with this issue,' said Marcos Lopez, Osceola County Sheriff.
During the meeting, the sheriff displayed a PowerPoint slide show with examples of past undocumented individuals who have committed violent crimes underscoring the urgency behind these efforts, with law enforcement making it clear that their collaboration with ICE is not about status—it's about safety.
Like many in the room, Revelles said there are still blurry lines between the roles of local government and the new law questioning what this enforcement might look like in practice and can these laws affect trust in law enforcement and the communities.
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