Amid a partisan divide on immigration policy, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is advocating for a “common sense” solution. Judd said in a press conference Tuesday that current efforts to enforce immigration law are falling short of the Trump administration’s stated goal to deport “the worst first.”
At the press conference inside Winter Haven’s Sheriff’s Operations Center, Judd said there are people who came to the country illegally who don’t have criminal history, are employed, and have children in school. “People who are adding to the American dream, … that came here illegally I might add, but they’re doing good,” Judd added. “… we need to find a path for them.”
Judd, 72, added that he does not oppose President Donald Trump or Governor Ron DeSantis in their approaches to solve the issue, but that he wants to find a path forward that will focus arrests on “the bad guys.”
The conference comes after yesterday’s Florida State Immigration Enforcement Council meeting. Judd is chair of the council, which is made up of sheriffs and police chiefs.
Judd proposed that the gathered sheriffs and police chiefs write a letter to Congress asking them to create a path to legal residence for people who are here illegally but are otherwise good neighbors and community members. Judd said at that meeting that a colleague of his brought this up to Trump, who was “not anti-that conversation.”
Judd said at Tuesday’s press conference that he would like Congress to learn from the members of the council, who he said have a year of “on the ground” experience enforcing these laws, giving them unique insight the lawmakers may lack.
The suggestion could solve a problem law enforcement has had since immigration enforcement efforts started ramping up last year. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who is also on the council, has been telling immigration enforcement critics that they should “go to congress” if they have concerns about immigration law rather than ask sheriffs to not enforce it.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said at a news conference in Orlando he would not support the letter. Uthmeier also recently demanded that Tampa Mayor Jane Castor remove a policy that experts say keeps crime down by encouraging immigrants without legal status to report crime. With no binding legal order, Castor agreed to Uthmeier’s demands within days.
Judd, on Tuesday, expressed a degree of understanding for people who came to the U.S. illegally looking for a better life:
“If I’m in the United States, making a dollar an hour to roof houses and they go, ‘Hey, if you’ll cross over this imaginary border into Mexico, you can make 20 dollars an hour, 20 times what you’re making.’ And then I go, ‘Where do I apply?’ (They say) ‘Well, you apply to get your permits to go into this other country, and it’s about a 10 year wait.’ Now, am I gonna wait 10 years, or am I gonna walk across that open border? Well they walked across the open border. It’s illegal, it’s a violation of law, they need to be held accountable, it’s not appropriate. But why is it a 10 year wait?”
The press conference was streamed live on Facebook, where long-time Judd supporters were torn between supporting and opposing his announcement. “We are witnessing the end of Judds career,” one comment said. “THANK YOU GRADY GOOD JOB, GRADY,” another said. “Bruh… not you grady… he must have a latina baddy he’s in love with lol,” a third said.
Judd criticized Congress for partisan inaction. “Why are we in this position? Because Congress is sitting in Washington with their political battles against each other. I’m convinced if one party or the other found the cure to the worst cancers, then the other would vote against it.”
Judd said he would give Congress an “F-minus” grade on immigration.
“Put down your steak knives that y’all use to slash each other with, and pick up your warm heart and do what’s right,” Judd said.
Immigration attorney Daniela Carrión told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that paths to legal residency are hard to come by. Many immigrants without legal resident status in Florida came on agricultural visas, which are seasonal and offer no path to becoming a full-time resident of the U.S.
Many of these people overstay their visas because they are forced to by their employers.
“For someone to come in legally, there are really limited paths,” Carrión told CL. “Even the most straightforward processes where you come into the United States legally with a non-immigrant visa for the purposes of living in the United States, all these processes take anywhere between 2 to 5 years.” She mentioned that a kind of visa that allows skilled professionals to enter the country now has a mandatory $100,000 fee associated.
Judd maintains that what some people call a change in position is just common sense. Carrión said that Polk County relies on a lot of immigrant labor through seasonal agricultural visas, and feels that Judd’s donors may have had an impact on his ideology.
“When his position is an elected position, that’s funded by lobbyists and that’s funded by direct contributions, then it’s no surprise someone who’s going to be seeking reelection in 2028 to ensure that those farms that are within his county have employees,” Carrión told CL. “And the only people that are willing to work there are undocumented immigrants under the harsh conditions and 12-hour days.”
Judd prefaced his proposal at Monday’s council meeting by saying that “economically politically active” Republicans had raised this concern to him.
Carrión still hopes that the shift is genuine. She said that Judd has impeded some of those immigrants who could have viable paths to legal status. U visas and T visas exist for victims of crime and trafficking, but in order to apply, a law enforcement agency needs to certify that you are a victim. Carrión told CL that Judd’s office has refused to certify anyone without legal resident status as a victim.
Carrión hopes Judd will reconsider his position towards certifying victims in light of his new comments.
Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | BlueSky
This article appears in Mar. 12 – 18, 2026.