Every county sheriff’s office in Florida can do street level immigration enforcement. That's due to agreements they signed with ICE and the Department of Homeland security this week.
The 287G agreements allow deputies to enforce immigration violations as part of their routine duties and allows ICE to serve and execute administrative warrants in their jails.
Gov. Ron DeSantis applauded those agreements during a press conference Wednesday. He made his remarks in front of several state law enforcement helicopters and a crowd of officers dressed in uniform.
“We're the only state in the country where all of the counties have done this. This is not just saying, ‘Oh, if there's an illegal alien or jail, then we'll let ICE pick them up.’ Obviously, you got to do that. It's also not saying that, ‘Oh, well, we'll honor a detainer or a warrant. Of course, you have to do that.’ This is a task force model which will lead to street level enforcement operations,” DeSantis said
The state’s sheriff’s offices announced agreements Monday to open up their jails for detentions for ICE. The moves are due to requirements in the immigration package passed by the Florida legislature in last month’s special session. It’s meant to help President Donald Trump’s planned mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.
“President Trump promised to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history. The fact is, if the state and locals are not fully participating in those efforts, it's going to be very difficult to achieve that. So Florida, we've stood up. We want to be part of the solution. We are going to be there every step of the way,” DeSantis said.
Critics of the agreement are concerned it will lead to racial profiling.