By James Wilkins, Orlando Sentinel The Tribune Content Agency
Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini wants to make it illegal for undocumented immigrants to enter the county, giving local authorities a directive to assist the Trump administration in deportations.
Sabatini opened discussion during Tuesday’s board meeting about a potential local ordinance modeled after one previously enacted in Jacksonville.
"I think, at the state and local level, we need to be doing everything we can to address this very important issue of illegal immigration,” he said. “I think eventually, this commission should take action to make sure we're doing everything in our power to combat this issue.”
The Jacksonville ordinance is on hold, however, as it was based on a new Florida law that a federal judge on April 4 issued a temporary restraining order against, saying it was likely unconstitutional.
Sabatini said he proposed the item to start the discussion and position Lake County to impose harsher penalties against undocumented immigrants if that is allowed.
"We have a new president, illegal immigration has become a major issue, there's all types of efforts towards deportation and the states are stepping up,” he said. “Florida passed one of the first laws in the country to remove illegals from the state."
The new law (SB 4-C) passed earlier this year as part of an effort to crack down on undocumented immigrants coming into the state. Sabatini argued a temporary restraining order against the law- halted on 4 by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams - stands on “extremely dubious, unconstitutional grounds.” Florida’s attorney general also has said the law is not improper.
The law created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. Immigrant advocacy groups and others challenged it on ground it violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes the federal government as the “supreme law of the land” and could designate immigration enforcement as a federal responsibility.
Sabatini said wants county officials to discuss immigration enforcement regularly while it waits on a final court ruling.
“As I’m getting this information from different parts of the state and the court system, I’m going to start putting it on the agenda once a month just to check in,” he said. “So that when we do get an ordinance, we will be lawfully allowed to enact this law.”
Sabatini did not share specifics on how Lake County would implement the law should it be allowed to move forward, but said he wanted to take time for input from other commissioners.
Commissioner Tim Morris raised concerns about the potential cost of enacting the law in Lake County if it stands.
“We’re going to have impacts on the jail population, the cost of housing and medical,” he said. “They’ll have to have representation, which means it’s probably the public defender. The state attorney’s going to be involved and the sheriff.”
Sabatini said he shares Morris’ concerns and that’s what he wants to have ongoing conversations.
“It may be a meeting or two or a few from now we’ll put it back on,” he said. “Or I’ll request respectfully for it to be put back on so we can talk about it again and then maybe eventually have a vote.”
Tuesday’s meeting was not Sabatini’s first effort to make significant moves regarding immigrants in Lake.
In January, Sabatini urged Tom Homan, then a nominee for director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to begin the process for deporting the more than 21,000 undocumented immigrants he said were in in the county. Homan is now the Trump administration’s border czar.
“Lake County has a population of over 435,000 people, yet contains 21,000+ illegal aliens, one of the highest concentrations of illegals in the state of Florida,” Sabatini wrote in the letter to Homan. “As a Lake County Commissioner and strong supporter of the nation’s immigration laws, I can assure you that the citizens of my county would greatly appreciate the efforts of your agency.”
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This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 6:08 AM.
