In a letter posted on X, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier accused the Tampa Police Department of having "sanctuary polices" that conflict with the state's laws on immigration enforcement.
One of the policies in question, Uthmeier wrote, prevents Tampa police from sharing information, including immigration status, of victims or witnesses of a crime with federal agents.
Another, prohibits officers from engaging in "broad-based" immigration enforcement actions.
Uthmeier concludes his letter by calling on Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to revise the policies by the end of the month or risk penalties, including possible removal from office by the governor.
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Castor released an email statement on Wednesday saying the city "will review the concerns raised and evaluate our policies and procedures to ensure that we use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law."
WUSF requested copies of the relevant police policies but has not received them.
Legal experts questioned the validity of Uthmeier's claims and the state's authority in removing an elected official in this situation.
"Removal from office is an extraordinary, constitutionally questionable step," said Alana Greer, an attorney with the Community Justice Project, a legal advocacy group based in Miami.
The Florida Constitution allows for suspension of municipal officials for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence or permanent inability to perform official duties.
Greer also pointed out that Florida law "gives a clear path to resolve allegations from the state of sanctuary policies through the courts."
"It's clear here these threats are meant to chill local governments," said Greer.
This is not the first time the state has removed or threatened to remove local officials from their posts.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has ejected two Democrat state attorneys from office in what critics called politically motivated moves.
Arturo Rios, an adjunct professor at Stetson University College of Law, said local police departments have a duty to public safety. That's why, in the event of a crime, officers may not be focused on immigration enforcement.
"Because you're taking away any sort of safety that a person may feel in reporting crimes," said Rios.
Uthmeier claims that the Tampa police policies violate state laws that require law enforcement to use "best efforts" in assisting immigration enforcement and ban "sanctuary policies."
But state law has specific protections for witnesses and victims of crime from information sharing, Greer said.
It states that law enforcement is not required to provide a federal immigration agency with information related to a victim of a criminal offense if the victim or witness is necessary to the investigation or they "in good faith responds" to requests for information and cooperates with the investigation.
Uthmeier also wrote that there are "procedures in place to protect the integrity of a case when a victim or witness is here unlawfully," and refers to the Department of Homeland Security's page on protective visas.
However, those visas and programs come with their own practical barriers, according to Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel with the American Immigration Council.
The U visa, which offers protection to victims of certain crimes, has an annual cap of 10,000 and faces a yearslong backlog.
The T visa, which is reserved for victims of human trafficking, has an annual cap of 5,000 per year and is backlogged as well, said Orozco.
Changes to the Violence Against Women Act, which is supposed to protect victims of domestic violence and abuse, have also become harder to apply for under the second Trump administration.
"Under this administration, we have seen people who have been victims of crimes be arrested by ICE, be prosecuted by the Department of Justice for illegal reentry," said Orozco. "And the difficulty there is that even if somebody has an application pending, they can still be arrested, detained and removed."
