TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he wants to ensure that undocumented migrants who are convicted of crimes aren't released into our communities.
Speaking at the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Titusville on Thursday, DeSantis took aim at what he called a "troubling change of policy with the federal government."
According to DeSantis, the Biden Administration is "halting the removal of criminal aliens" from the U.S. after they have completed their prison sentences.
Earlier this year, President Joe Biden outlined his planned changes to our country's immigration policies, which include prioritizing the deportation of undocumented migrants who are threats to national security, border security, and public safety.
The acting director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in February that the deportation priorities include crimes of terrorism, aggravated felonies, and those who illegally entered the United States or after Nov. 1.
"We've already had in Florida a handful of criminal aliens that had finished their sentences, and the detainers were removed by the Biden Administration," DeSantis said. "Normally they would've been transferred, federal custody and removed. Well now the federal government is effectively releasing them into our communities."
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration.
"We obviously believe that when people commit serious offenses, they need to be held accountable," DeSantis said.
The governor announced that he's sending a letter to the Biden Administration on Thursday, asking them to continue the prior Trump Administration policies regarding criminal migrant deportations.
DeSantis is also instructing the Florida Department of Corrections to pursue all legal avenues to make sure that criminal migrants are transferred to an ICE detention facility once their prison sentences are finished.
"We think that getting rid of the detainers is not good for the safety of Florida's communities," DeSantis said. "It's a reckless policy."