The head of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management sent a memo last week ordering local officials to gather personal data about immigrants they suspected of living in the country without authorization, even those who aren’t arrested.
DEM Director Kevin Guthrie’s previously unreported directive went too far for sheriffs in the new State Immigration Enforcement Council, who told Florida Phoenix they found out about the agency’s involvement in data collection for immigration enforcement after the memo went into effect on April 1.
Law enforcement stopped implementation of the March 31 memo after sheriffs voiced their objections. Police would’ve had to file forms including people’s addresses, employers, phone numbers, criminal history, and picture, if they suspected a person they came in contact with lacked legal status in this country, according to the memo obtained by the Phoenix.
DEM also required data collection when police questioned but didn’t detain or arrest someone. The statute cited in the memo gives the emergency management agency authority to collect data on major fires, airplane crashes, bomb threats, natural disasters, and other large-scale incidents.
Sheriffs oppose data sharing DEM proposed
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who chairs the immigration enforcement council, said during the group’s second meeting Wednesday that Guthrie’s directive contained a “fatal flaw” — it skipped the local law enforcement chains of command, blocking them from supervising their officers.
“They were just eager to collect the data. Once again, there was no malice,” Judd said in a phone interview with the Phoenix Wednesday. “It was just everybody wanting to be game-on and immediately respond to the mission that was given to us.”
Judd agreed that data collection should be narrower and only for people the federal government lacks information on.
“We’ve got to get our sea legs under us,” he said.
The sensitivity of the data sought also concerned Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who said the state shouldn’t aim to duplicate information the federal government already has. Senate President Ben Albritton nominated Gualtieri to the council.
“It was clunky, because we don’t submit information, especially some of that information in there is confidential information like criminal history information, that we would be prohibited by law from submitting to emergency managers,” Gualtieri said in a phone interview.