TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis rebuked some of Florida’s top law enforcement officials Thursday, criticizing their calls to Congress and President Donald Trump to work on a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants.

“This idea that unless you’re an axe murderer you should be able to stay, that is not consistent with our laws, and it’s also not good policy,” DeSantis said at an event in Bradenton.

[WATCH: State Immigration Enforcement Council meeting (via The Florida Channel)]

On Monday, the State Immigration Enforcement Council, a group of local law enforcement officials who were appointed to advise the State Board of Immigration Enforcement on illegal immigration enforcement, decided to send a letter to federal government officials asking them to work on a path to citizenship for noncriminal undocumented immigrants who pay a fine.

“My job as governor is to do what’s best for the people, not what any one person who gets elected in one county thinks,” DeSantis said.

[WATCH: DeSantis unveils an aggressive immigration and border security policy (from 2023)]

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, chair of the council, said Monday that immigrants who aren’t criminals should be able to stay in the country, under certain conditions. Other council members, like Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, agreed with him.

“What’s right’s right, and what’s not’s not,” Gualtieri said at the meeting, “And going after the mom, who’s got three kids, who’s just trying to make a living, who’s been here for 15 years…that isn’t right, and they do need to fix it.”

DeSantis said Florida has become the national standard for illegal immigration enforcement after enacting legislation and pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into law enforcement, state-run detention facilities, and working directly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Who does (border czar) Tom Homan cite as the way to do this? He cites Florida without hesitation,” DeSantis said. “We’ve got to keep the momentum going, we certainly don’t want to backtrack on this.”

Judd and Gualtieri, two of the four sheriffs on the council, have consulted DeSantis and the legislature over the past couple of years about local law enforcement’s role in illegal immigration enforcement.

[WATCH: DeSantis outlines immigration priorities ahead of Trump’s new presidency (from 2025)]

The switch to advocating for a path for citizenship is a 180-degree turn for Judd. Last year in a council meeting, Judd asked Trump to sign more executive orders to allow state law enforcement to expedite the removal of undocumented immigrants, including those who do not have removal orders or criminal records.

But on Monday, Judd suggested writing a letter to elected officials, including Trump, the Speaker of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, and federal agencies to work on a path to citizenship.

All council members except Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, who was not at the meeting, agreed.

“There are those here that are working hard, they have kids in college, are in school, they’re going to church on Sunday, they’re not violating the law, and they’re living the American dream,” Judd told council members.

After receiving backlash for his comments, at a press conference the day after the meeting, Judd said he heard from sheriffs across the state who called him in support.

The sheriff, who stood his ground and again called for the federal government to work on a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants, calling it “common sense.”

“They’re not a drag on society. In fact, they’re helping society. We need to find a path for them,” Judd said.

[WATCH: Sheriff Judd calls on feds to pull back mass deportation campaign]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The patient in Room 373 refuses to leave.

Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare earlier this month sued the patient, saying she has refused to depart her hospital room since being discharged last October. The hospital also has asked a state judge in Tallahassee for an injunction ordering the patient to vacate the hospital room and authorizing the county sheriff’s office to assist if necessary.

The hospital said that resources have been diverted from helping other patients because of her occupation of the room.

“Defendant’s continued occupancy prevents use of the bed for patients needing acute care,” the hospital said in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the woman was admitted to the hospital for medical treatment and a formal discharge order was issued Oct. 6 after it was determined that she no longer needed acute care services. The hospital has repeatedly made efforts to coordinate her departure with family members and offered transportation to obtain necessary identification, the lawsuit said.

Rachel Givens, an attorney for the hospital, said Wednesday that the hospital had no comment. Hospital spokeswoman Macy Layton said Wednesday that the hospital couldn’t discuss active legal matters, in response to emailed questions, including about what type of identification the patient needed. The lawsuit doesn’t say what the patient was treated for, what her hospital bill was or how she was able to stay at the hospital for more than five months despite being discharged.

No attorney was listed for the patient, who is representing herself. Phones numbers listed in an online database for the patient were disconnected. No one answered the phone when a call was put through to her room at the hospital.

An online court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for the end of the month.

Under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals that receive Medicare funds must provide treatment that stabilizes anyone coming to an emergency department with an emergency medical condition, even if the patient doesn’t have insurance or the ability to pay. Hospitals can be investigated by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for violations.

The patient can be discharged when the clinicians have determined that any further care can be provided as an outpatient, “provided the individual is given a plan for appropriate follow-up care as part of the discharge instructions,” the federal agency said in an operations manual.

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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.