A WSLR analysis shows most undocumented people arrested in Sarasota and turned over to ICE were charged with only minor crimes.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: April 1, 2026
Host: The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is one of the most active local law enforcement agencies in Florida when it comes to ICE referrals. Kurt Hoffman describes all arrests of undocumented immigrants as prompted by “criminal offenses.” But how many people ending up in the deportation machine really are “worst of the worst” offenders? Ramon Lopez pored over the hundreds of ICE referrals coming out of the Sarasota County Jail since early last year.
Kristi Noem: We are focused on the worst of the worst—bringing these individuals to justice. We’re not going to let individuals terrorize our streets anymore, and we’re not going to let them make victims out of families that live in this country. We have laws, and we don’t get to pick which ones matter and which ones don’t. Every single one of our laws has been put in place for a reason and therefore will be enforced.
Ramon Lopez: That was then Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference in Bradenton last October 20. She was discussing what so-called “worst of the worst” crimes are.
She went on to list some of those serious offenses.
KN: We will continue to bring murderers and rapists, those who perpetuate violence, pedophiles, gang members in our communities. We will go after them, bring them to justice, and we will save lives.
The American people understand the benefits of having law and order again. I’m making sure we’re a nation of borders, but also, we’re a nation of laws, and those laws are enforced.
RL: The Trump administration has repeatedly portrayed its mass deportation effort as a way to get rid of immigrants who have committed the most serious crimes or are a danger to society.
DHS and ICE officials say they are fulfilling President Trump’s promise to carry out mass deportations—starting with the “worst of the worst” crimes. They include possession of child pornography, sexual abuse of a child, manslaughter, illegal US entry, racketeering, illegal gun possession and robbery.
Most would agree that first-degree felonies would make anybody’s “worst of the worst” hit list, although not all are violent crimes. But Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman says some misdemeanors are serious offenses and the “perps need to face the music.” To Hoffman, a crime is a crime is a crime.
Sheriff Kurt Hoffman. | Photo: Lopez
Kurt Hoffman: The majority of those are what I would consider serious. Even domestic battery and domestic strangulation are on there. Some of those are misdemeanors. People doing that kind of activity in our county, I think, should be held accountable.
RL: So, with all of this in mind, Hoffman provided WSLR News the cases of all undocumented persons arrested and charged with crimes by his deputies during 2025 and in January and February of this year.
No names were provided, so we were unable to see what eventually happened to them. And some cases never go to trial, as some see their charges dropped when they choose to self-deport.
Critics point out that if someone has been arrested for a crime, it doesn’t mean that person committed a serious felony such as murder versus a minor crime like shoplifting.
A spot check of those undocumented and arrested and charged with crimes in Sarasota County during the first two months of this year and later turned over to ICE shows some “collars” for drug dealing, sex crimes, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and homicide.
But the vast majority of those apprehended were only charged with traffic violations, misdemeanors and less-serious second and third degree felonies. And those allegedly violating US immigration law typically appear before immigration judges in civil—not criminal—proceedings.
The data from the county reflects on what’s happening statewide. As reported by WUSF last month, there were 20,600 immigration-related arrests in Florida last year.
Arrests in the state more than tripled, according to data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by the University of California Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project.
Maria ‘Lulu’ Martinez was arrested by North Port Police last year after a wrong U-turn and finding she drove without a valid license. The Sarasota Sheriff’s Office referred the recent college graduate to ICE detention in Texas. After weeks in detention, an administrative judge declared her a “danger to the community” and denied bail. Martinez gave up her appeal and let herself be deported to Mexico. | Photo: Courtesy Martinez family
And, according to WUSF, the data shows ICE continues to arrest those with no criminal background. About a quarter had no criminal record besides an immigration offense.
Meanwhile, an internal DHS document leaked to the media shows that less than 14 percent of nearly 400,000 undocumented immigrants arrested by ICE last year had charges or convictions for violent worst-of-the-worst criminal offenses. Less than two percent of those arrested by ICE had homicide or sexual assault charges or convictions.
Nearly 40 percent of those arrested by ICE did not have any criminal record at all. They were only accused of civil immigration offenses such as living illegally in the United States or overstaying their visitor visas.
Long-time Pasco County Sheriff Grady Judd is chairman of Florida’s State Immigration Enforcement Council. It’s a group of local law enforcement officials appointed to advise the State Board of Immigration Enforcement on illegal immigration.
He said he supports President Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis when it comes to mass immigration deportation of undocumented immigrants committing serious crimes, the so-called “worst of the worst.”
But Judd says current federal enforcement is casting too wide a net.
Grady Judd | Screen grab The Florida Channel
Grady Judd: There needs to be a path forward for those who are in this country. They came here illegally, they violated the federal law, but it’s a civil violation. Currently, they have no criminal history; they’re not committing crime; they’re employed; they’re not creating problems. But those people who are adding to the American dream and are enjoying the American dream—that came here illegally, I might add—are doing good and they’re not a drag on society. They’re, in fact, helping society.
RL: Judd advocates a path for undocumented immigrants who haven’t committed crimes to stay in the United States. And he plans to send a letter to U.S. President Trump and House and Senate leaders outlining just how to do this.
Judd was backed by two other sheriffs on the Council. And Pasco County’s top lawman said sheriffs across the state support him.
But that doesn’t include Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman. He said as much in an exclusive interview with WSLR News.
RL: So you disagree with Grady Judd’s concept?
KH: I do.
RL: He’s going to go to Congress and say, “You need to change this thing.”
KH: Not with Kurt Hoffman, he’s not.
RL: This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.