The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and sheriffs from several Florida counties announced new efforts to enhance public safety Wednesday.
The Deputy Director of ICE announced 17 Basic Ordering Agreements (BOA), which will involve 17 jurisdictions in Florida in an effort to make the area safer with regards to people who are here illegally.
“This process will result in fewer criminal aliens released to the street. It’s as simple as that,” said ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan. “The stronger our partnerships are with local law enforcement, the better we can execute ICE’s public safety mission and protect our communities.”
A BOA is an existing procurement tool for acquiring a substantial, but presently unknown, quantity of supplies or services.
A BOA is not a contract, but rather is a set of terms negotiated between an agency and a service provider that contain a description of services to be provided, terms applicable to a future order between the parties, and a method for pricing, issuing, and delivering on future orders.
ICE says the collaborative effort is to ensure that dangerous criminals here illegally are not released back into the community.
There will now be a 48-hour hold once criminals are released from custody so that ICE can pick them up, and the local service provider will be reimbursed for the detention costs.
Sheriff Gualtieri of Pinellas County says the agreement is in place to address criminal illegal aliens, not just people who are here illegally.
"When it comes to criminal illegals, there should be no discussion. There should be no debate. There should be no hesitation. There should be no considerations is they need to go and they need to stay gone and we should all be committed to that," Sheriff Gualtieri said.
