Multiple illegal immigrants were arrested in Florida last week on suspicion of unlawfully picking thousands of pounds of palmetto berries, leading one local sheriff to blast Washington, D.C., lawmakers over their "complete and total failure" to keep the U.S. border secure.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey announced in a video on Monday that eight suspects, four of whom are illegal immigrants, were arrested in connection to stealing about $7,300 worth of palmetto berries from a private property and loading the 9,000-pound harvest into the back of a U-Haul.
Ivey said that 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."
Of the four illegal immigrants arrested, two were found to be applying for U.S. citizenship and cannot be deported due to pending court dates for immigration status, according to Ivey. He added that others had previously been deported and had prior felony arrests.
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"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," Ivey said, "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 said that during multiple trips to the U.S. southern border, he has witnessed firsthand the surging influx of illegal immigrants and its subsequent impact on communities across the country.
"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," Ivey said. "This is a complete and total failure on Washington, D.C., for not allowing the laws of our great nation to be enforced."
Ivey asked when "we as a nation" are going to lose tolerance for people illegally entering the U.S. to "commit more crimes?"
"Why don’t you allow our Customs and Border Patrol agents to secure our damn border like our laws allow," Ivey directed at Washintgton, 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."
