EXCLUSIVE– Not even three months into the job, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says it is his goal to make Florida the safest state in the nation to raise a family.
“My big agenda is really focused on delivering on the agenda set forth by President Trump and Governor DeSantis, and that starts with immigration,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday.
Uthmeier was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and sworn in on February 17 to fill the vacancy created by former Attorney General Ashley Moody, who DeSantis selected to fill Sen. Marco Rubio’s Senate seat following his departure to serve as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State.
The 37-year-old attorney general said he has worked with the Florida legislature to give new authorities to the state’s law enforcement officers, allowing them to be “certified, trained and deputized by ICE and Homeland Security to work alongside the feds to detain people that are in this state unlawfully.”
One of the youngest attorneys general in Florida’s history, Uthmeier said illegal immigration has taken a toll on his state.
“We’ve also seen significant harms to our economy, where people [are] unlawfully here in this state, our taxing, our infrastructure, our education systems, and our healthcare systems. So we believe in rule of law,” Uthmeier said. “We believe in sovereignty. We want to make sure that the state of Florida is protecting our families against the dangers of illegal immigration and all the other vices and criminalities that go along with it.”
Most of the time under former President Joe Biden’s administration, Uthmeier said, illegal immigrants had committed crimes and were still released.
“Floridians have been seriously impacted by the immigration crisis,” he added.
“Over the last calendar year, we’ve had dozens of very serious crimes ranging from murder to sexual assaults of seniors, of children, and other serious felonies,” the Florida Attorney General said. “And in almost all cases, these criminals have been in touch with our criminal justice system. And when they were handed over to the feds, the Biden administration and the Democrats just opened up the back door and let them back out on the streets, putting our families in jeopardy.”
Fox News Digital reached out to a Biden representative for comment.
Uthmeier said that he is “excited” that this is no longer the case under Trump’s administration.
“We’ve given more powers to the state and to the governor where if local officials want to prevent law enforcement from working with the federal government to combat illegal immigration, that we can bring civil actions and levy penalties against these jurisdictions,” Uthmeier said. “And the governor ultimately has broader authority to remove people from office that don’t want to do their job.”
If they refuse, they are put “on notice.”
“The city of Fort Myers was the first to reverse and say, ‘Okay, you know, we’re going to help our law enforcement officers to cooperate,'” Uthmeier said.
Recently, several Fort Myers, Florida, City Council members were in tears during a March 20 meeting leading up to the vote on the partnership between ICE and their local police working together to apprehend illegal immigrants.
Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson said he was “disappointed” and “embarrassed” by the council members’ opposition to the vote, which resulted in a tie. The Fort Myers City Council later reversed course and passed the measure unanimously.
“I know Jacksonville recently decided to support this law,” Uthmeier said. “I know some others are ‘talking the talk’ that they might not cooperate, but we will ensure that they are held accountable.”
FLORIDA MAYOR BREAKS DOWN CITY’S AGREEMENT WITH ICE OVER DEPORTATION EFFORTS
Another priority for Uthmeier in making Florida a safe place to raise a family is combating the sexual exploitation of children.
“My first day on the job, I told our team, I want to do everything I can to prioritize getting these demented individuals off the streets,” Uthmeier said. “Somebody’s trying to prey upon kids through social media, which is very prevalent. If people are trying to traffic our kids, if people are trying to engage in the sale of child pornography, we are going to go after them with the full force of law, and I hope these individuals don’t see the sunlight ever again.”
He said a recent bust of an international child pornography ring was especially gruesome.
“They were selling over a million videos and images,” Uthmeier said. “Words in the English language cannot describe the gruesome nature of the sexual assault that was going on, hurting kids and even babies in these images.”
“We busted this ring,” Uthmeier said. “We’re continuing to investigate. Anybody that’s engaged in this type of behavior is going to face the full force of the law in Florida and my office’s wrath.”
The father of three said Florida will not be “lenient at all” in prosecuting child sex offenders, adding, “We’re going to protect our kids and we’re gonna keep our state safe, strong and free.”
In terms of making Florida a fair state to live in, Uthmeier said that his team is fighting against wrongful prosecution of innocent people.
“Our office is going to fight back against lawfare and the dangers that it presents,” Uthmeier said.
“We have filed many briefs in federal court to defend the actions of President Trump, to defend his ability to fire senior ranking officials in the administration that don’t want to do their jobs, that don’t want to adhere to his mission.”
He added that he thinks it’s “ridiculous” that the courts can keep the President of the United States from firing bureaucrats.
“We also have disagreed strongly with the efforts of district judges across the country to try to impose their own political preferences for the executive power decisions of the president that the Constitution, you know, clearly delineates fall with the president,” Uthmeier said.
“Here at the local level, where we’ve had state attorneys in Orlando and other jurisdictions that don’t want to impose sentences, that don’t want to bring cases against serious offenders, including murderers, we hold them accountable. We take action. I’m going to be including my oversight authority to ensure that cases get brought where needed.”
The end result, he hopes, is a thriving place for families.
“Here in Florida, we’re at a 50-year crime low,” Uthmeier said. “That’s not going to stop. We’ve become the number one destination in the country for a reason. People want to settle here and bring their families here because it’s safe. And under my watch as attorney general, that’s never going to change.”
