As National Sheriffs’ Convening Begins, Ties to White Nationalist Groups Exposed

Los Angeles, CA – Today, as sheriffs from across the country arrived for their national conference in Louisville, Kentucky, civil rights groups launched a call for the group to disavow known hate groups and a vocal anti-immigrant sheriff from Florida, Bob Gualtieri, that are promoting a greater role for sheriffs in deportations and targeting of immigrants nationwide.

“It’s time to expose the hate groups behind these programs, and demand that Sheriffs stop working with all of them,” reads a petition circulating online, launched by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).

Advocates say the National Sheriffs’ Association’s vocal backing of an anti-immigrant platform is no coincidence. The investigative group Political Research Associates (PRA) recently uncovered that the Sheriffs Association has been taking policy guidance and adopted the legal framework of a well-known white nationalist hate group, “FAIR.”

On Thursday in Louisville, PRA and grassroots partners and civil rights groups hosted a public forum to examine the influence of overtly xenophobic movements within the Sheriffs Association. “Nearly a quarter of the leadership… have ties to a far-right network of sheriffs founded by Richard Mack in 2011, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association,” said PRA in a statement.

The Sheriffs’ Association plans to honor Pinellas County Sheriff, Bob Gualtieri. Gualtieri has led the effort to secure a controversial 287G deportation agreement for the entire state of Florida. The 287G deportation agreements allow ICE to deputize local law enforcement and was made famous by convicted former Sheriff, Joe Arpaio.

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