Eight individuals, including four undocumented immigrants, were arrested last week in Florida on suspicion of illegally harvesting thousands of pounds of palmetto berries. But the episode made national headlines this week after Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, who made the arrests, went on a tirade blaming Washington, D.C. lawmakers over their "complete and total failure" to keep the U.S. border secure
"While this specific case may not seem like a big deal to some, it is actually what this case revealed about the subjects who were arrested and the fact that they are in our country illegally that drives me absolutely insane and will most likely tick you off as well," said Ivey in a video picked up by Fox News.
The suspects were detained after allegedly stealing approximately $7,300 worth of palmetto berries from private property and loading 9,000 pounds of the harvest into a U-Haul. Among the four undocumented immigrants arrested, two are currently applying for U.S. citizenship and cannot be deported due to pending court dates for their immigration status, while the other two have previously been deported and have prior felony arrests.
Ivey criticized the limitations on deportation:
"The best part for me is that when we ask why this person can't be deported or why is this person still in our country after committing multiple crimes, we're told that unless they commit a violent felony, they're not going to be deported no matter how many nonviolent crimes they've committed."
Ivey also emphasized his concerns regarding the impact of illegal immigration on local communities, blaming the government for the surge in illegal crossings:
"Please understand, this is not a failure on our partners at the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Border Patrol or even Department of Homeland Security. This is a complete and total failure on Washington, D.C., for not allowing the laws of our great nation to be enforced."
Ivey went on to ask when the U.S. would take a stronger stance against illegal immigration and urged officials to allow Customs and Border Patrol agents to do more to secure the border:
"Why don't you allow our Customs and Border Patrol agents to secure our damn border like our laws allow," Ivey directed at Washington, D.C., officials, "or get the hell out of the way and I'll do it with the help of sheriffs from across the country who actually believe in enforcing the law and are sick and tired of this crap."
Ivey has become a controversial figure in law enforcement, in large part because of initiatives like "Wheel of Fugitive", where he spins a wheel to determine who will get arrested that day.
"The Wheel of Fugitive started because I was talking to a civic group one day, and I was telling them about how many fugitives we had", he recently explained to Fox News. "I kind of jokingly said my idea is to have a big giant wheel and spin it, whoever it lands on that's who we're arresting that day. Well, everybody applauded, and so I decided to field test it," he added.
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