Manatee County Commissioners discuss impact of illegal immigrants

BRADENTON, Fla. - Nearly 600 hospital stays and more than 3,500 ER visits make up the number of illegal immigrants receiving service at Manatee Memorial Hospital over a six-month period.

"Ladies and gentleman, I simply can not afford to keep doing what I am doing. It takes away care from other patients and resources from other patients," said Tom McDougal.

Hospital CEO Tom McDougal said it’s leading to a financial strain.

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"We are short almost 18 million dollars," he said.

At the Manatee County School District, the impact of illegal immigration on services isn’t truly known.

"It’s a little bit of a hidden numbers shell game. The federal government doesn’t allow us to collect the data from students, from parents to see who is a citizen of the United States or not," said School Board Chair Chad Choate.

Manatee County Commissioners held a special meeting on Tuesday to gauge the impact of illegal immigration on Manatee County. They found specific numbers are hard to come by.

"We don’t know the real numbers because the real numbers aren’t being reported by anyone. It’s kind of an ask don’t tell situation," said Commission Chair Mike Rahn.

Sheriff Rick Wells offered a few hard numbers. He said ICE detainers have increased in the Manatee County Jail from 82 in 2022 to 137 in 2023 and 53 currently for 2024.

Of those numbers, ICE took 98 detainers in 2022 and 47 in 2023. If they are not picked up, those detained are eventually released.

One thing that hasn’t increased, according to State Attorney Ed Brodsky is crime.

"We haven’t seen as far in the court system, a great spike or influx. Florida I think we are very fortunate because of the governor and I think the strong policies this isn’t a very climate inducive environment so I think we’ve been very well," said Brodsky.

Sheriff Wells said those who are fearful of their illegal status are often the victims of crime.

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"What we have always noticed, one of the issues we have in our Hispanic community are them being victimized," he said.

Manatee County Commissioners said as border crossings remain frequent, they want to gain a full understanding of the real impact on the area.

"This issue has been created by the Federal Government and has been imposed upon the local communities by this administration and others," said Kevin VanOstenbridge.

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