To my fellow district 3 Republicans, supporters and friends,
When I was your Sheriff, from 2009 - 2021, I looked for unconventional ways to help prevent and solve problems in our county. One of the first things I did after becoming Sheriff was enter into an agreement with ICE to deport criminal illegal aliens from our jails. I then took things a step further with participation in a warrant service officer program. I was the first Sheriff in Sarasota County's history to do this, and it resulted in hundreds being deported during my tenure, saving taxpayers from housing criminal aliens and making our community safer. (read more about it here)
I want to build on that work. If I become your next district 3 county commissioner, I will propose an illegal immigration task force for Sarasota County. The mission of the task force will be to create a system to collect and report comprehensive information on the presence and activity of illegal immigrants in our county.
Right now, our county doesn't have a consolidated, easy-to-find source of information to tell us how many illegal and undocumented people are routinely entering our county and how they are using our taxpayer-funded resources including our overcrowded hospitals, schools and jails, and what crimes they may be committing--from fentanyl distribution to human trafficking. We need to know! ICE and border patrol are overwhelmed and the Biden administration is not enforcing laws on the books, so states and counties like ours must step in. Collecting information is the first step.
Should I have the privilege of being your elected commissioner I pledge to focus on illegal immigration, manage our county's unrestrained growth and stop tax and budget bloat. Just as you did when I was Sheriff, you can count on me to keep my promises as your commissioner.
In Your Service,
Tom Knight
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