Sheriff's Photo of 'Secure Border' Is From Joe Biden's Presidency

A Florida sheriff compared U.S.-Mexico border photos to tout efforts to protect the state from potential mass migration flows from Haiti and elsewhere.

Haiti, which is about 831 miles from Florida at its shortest distance, has drawn renewed attention from Florida officials after weeks of gang violence emanating from a massive jailbreak of more than 4,500 inmates. The gangs reportedly control about 80 percent of the capital city Port-au-Prince, essentially ousting the Caribbean nation's acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, in the near future, pending the creation of a transitional presidential council.

U.S. military officials, some of whom were requested by Florida Representative Matt Gaetz to prepare Navy vessels to deter Haitian ships in the Atlantic, said this week that they are anticipating any mass migration flows into the country. On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis deployed more than 250 officers and soldiers from the Florida State Guard, Division of Emergency Management and law enforcement agencies to the state's southern coast.

"I'm gonna get this right down to the lowest common denominator," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a Friday press conference. "You heard the governor eloquently say what he's doing to protect Florida, and he's doing all that he can to protect us.

"But look, for those of you in Congress and the executive branch, this is a secure border [holds up a photo]. This is an unsecure border [holds up another photo]. Everybody knows the difference except for the executives and the Congress who are absolutely, totally tone deaf."

The first photo Judd held up showed federal Border Patrol agents finding the body of a man who died when he tried to cross the border from Juarez, Mexico, on July 26, 2021, during Joe Biden's presidency.

The second photo shows a group of migrants at an undisclosed location attempting to scale the border wall. Newsweek could not determine when this picture was taken.

Newsweek has reached out to Polk County Sheriff's Office via email for comment.

"Folks, they're coming here not just to find a better way life many of our forefathers did," Judd added. "They're coming here to kill our people while they make enormous profits. And one example is fentanyl."

DeSantis was in Polk County and signed three bills he said will proactively help authorities deter illegal immigration efforts.

One bill, SB 1036, enhances penalties for a crime committed by a person who returns to the country illegally after an initial deportation.

"What you find in these significant instances is...it's not just an illegal alien but someone who has been deported who comes and commits a crime again....We are throwing the book at you, and you will regret coming back to the state of Florida," DeSantis said.

HB 1451 prevents counties and municipalities from accepting ID cards issued to illegal migrants by other jurisdictions.

HB 1589 increases penalties for individuals who operate a vehicle without a license.

DeSantis, who praised his state for being pragmatic on immigration compared to six or seven years ago, also said he feels comfortable about Florida agencies working together to prevent migrants from coming to the state illegally via the Atlantic Ocean. He said that since January 2023, efforts have led to the interdiction of 670 vessels carrying more than 13,500 illegal migrants.

"I think the message is, the last thing you should want to do and think you're gonna come through from one of these islands to Florida....It's a hazardous journey and not worth doing," he said.

He referenced a February 29 case in which two Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers conducting nighttime water-based patrol near Sebastian Inlet in Brevard County and stopped a 42-foot vessel returning from offshore.

The officers "knew they had intercepted a human smuggling operation," FWC said in a press release, adding that the vessel's operator was armed and onboard. Another 25 people, including five unaccompanied children, were attempting to illegally enter the country.

Officers recovered firearms, night-vision gear and drugs. The vessel operator and a passenger, both U.S. citizens, were turned over to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and the case was referred to them and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

"[Fish and Wildlife] saw the boat coming through," Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers told Newsweek via phone. "When they did not stop, they immediately called for backup, and that's where our team got on scene and assisted them with it."

He said that two officers making 25 apprehensions is "a massive amount."

Officers didn't see all the people because they were laying down, Flowers said, and a boat out at that time of day was suspicious.

"It's not thing that you would normally associate with people being out in the evening times. It raises a red flag about why is this boat is coming through here at a certain time. You know, a lot of times we are concerned about drug trafficking because that's a big thing for those islands and so they'd be willing to come through.

"I don't think [the officers] knew exactly what it was that [the suspects] had. They just knew that the boat was suspicious, and that's why they conducted the stop and found all those people lay about inside the boat. Actually, some of our helicopter shots actually show the people laying down all around."