Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said law enforcement agencies are facing significant financial burdens tied to immigration enforcement, placing responsibility on policies enacted under the previous administration.

“Doing stupid sh*t has a price tag, and the previous administration allowed them to come into our country by the millions, and so there’s going to be a price tag for getting them out of the country,” Ivey said.

Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey spoke at Shatter the Silence: Every Voice Matters, a community seminar held Feb. 24 to raise awareness and knowledge about human trafficking. The event was hosted by the GFWC Viera Woman’s Club, Inc., was held at the Brevard Public Health Department Conference Center in Viera.

He said the costs extend beyond removal efforts.

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“The price tag of law enforcement having to do the work that should have never had to be done, because if we’d had a secure border, we wouldn’t have this problem,” Ivey stated.

He continued, “The price tag of flying them out of the country, the price tag of maintaining them in prisons and everything else.”

Ivey argued that taxpayers are now covering expenses he believes could have been avoided.

“So when we start looking at why are we having to pay this money, that price tag is associated with those that let them come across the border illegally, and now Florida citizens and the country are having to pay the price for stupid stuff,” he said. “So that’s why.”

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Despite the financial impact, Ivey said federal and state authorities have helped offset the burden.

“But I attest with the general, our federal government’s been great at reimbursing us, our state’s been great at reimbursing us and our citizens here in Brevard County, and I’m sure I speak for all of the sheriffs love the fact that we’re enforcing the law and they there is no price for freedom,” Ivey said.

He connected immigration enforcement to public safety concerns.

“I mean when you talk about in safety, when you talk about citizens that are being sexually molested, children being trafficked, all of the other crimes that go with that,” Ivey said.

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“What we’re looking at is paying the price for keeping our citizens safe,” he added. “And I’ll, I’ll pay that every day.”

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