TALLAHASSEE, FL- When it comes to supporting President Trump’s mass deportation efforts, no state in the union can seemingly compare to Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has fallen squarely in line behind the president’s priorities. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), fully 70% of Florida law enforcement agencies have active 287(g) agreements with the feds.
That, however, isn’t enough for some law enforcement officials in the state. At a Tuesday State Immigration Enforcement meeting on Tuesday, some top law enforcement officials said that some agencies, including some of the largest sheriffs offices and police departments are not participating, despite a state law requiring them to make an effort to do so.
Of the 272 “active” agencies signed on to 287(g) agreements, 163 are considered “active operational,” meaning they have made one or more arrests under those agreements. The remaining 109 agencies have not yet made an arrest, FDLE data shows.
The council will be sending letters to law enforcement agencies encouraging them to comply with state law, assist the federal government in illegal alien immigration enforcement, and report monthly data to FDLE, WUSF radio, an NPR station, reported.
One sheriff who is a superstar in the effort is Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the council chair, who said he doesn’t want to embarrass agencies that are not in compliance or otherwise participating.
“I want to encourage them. I don’t want to see them publicly embarrassed for not complying with the law,” Judd said.
The council is giving agencies time to earn accreditation, begin arrests, and learn how to enter data into Florida’s Suspected Unauthorized Alien Encounters Dashboard, the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, a council member, expressed sympathy for some agencies, but said the time for action is now.
Gualtieri said he was “very sympathetic a while back to everybody getting up to speed and getting their sea legs under them,” but now they needed to take action.
“Follow the law, do what you’re supposed to do,” Gualtieri said. “There’s no glitches; either you’re doing it or not.”
Judd said checking immigration status should be a part of law enforcement officer’s “daily routine.”
“We’re not suggesting that people gather up at Home Depots or Lowes and target people,” Judd said. “We’re not suggesting they go into agriculture fields or work sites.”
Despite the requirement for all Florida law enforcement agencies to enter into 287(g) agreements, some are only doing the bare minimum.
One such agency is Broward County, which has an “active operational” agreement, however only two out of 1,745 deputies are designated immigration officers and the agency has not participated in monthly reporting, FDLE data showed.
While it isn’t a requirement, police agencies “shall use their best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law.” One of the state’s largest police departments, Fort Lauderdale, with 543 officers, doesn’t have a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
A vast majority of designated immigration officers in the state work under county sheriffs, with only 17% of 9,026 designated immigration officers in the state coming from the ranks of police officers.
Florida offers grants for immigration enforcement to law enforcement agencies, however Anthony Coker, director of the State Immigration Enforcement Council, said none will be given to law enforcement agencies that do not enter into cooperation agreements with ICE or who do not report data to the state.
To date, the State Board of Immigration Enforcement has approved approximately $148 million in funds to local law enforcement agencies to assist with federal immigration enforcement.
Of that total, $13.5 million has already been distributed to 34 agencies, according to Transparency Florida, a government spending state website.
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