Fla. LE agencies that participated in ICE program request $10.4M in grants to cover costs

Lynne Sladky/AP

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Thirty-two law enforcement agencies across Florida are requesting approximately $10.4 million in state grant funds to cover immigration-related enforcement costs, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

The State Immigration Enforcement Council, led by Executive Director Larry Keefe, has preliminarily approved all 32 funding requests, according to the report. Final approval is expected to come during the upcoming meeting of the Governor and Florida Cabinet.

The funds, requested under a set of immigration enforcement laws signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis during a special session earlier this year, are earmarked for costs including:

• ICE detention beds
• Officer and correctional staff bonuses
• Transportation and overtime
• Surveillance equipment, radios, body cameras and license plate readers
• Rapid ID fingerprint scanners and 287(g) training

Highest requests

• Lee County and St. John’s County each requested $1 million, the largest individual amounts.
• Escambia County asked for nearly $963,000, most of it for 65 radio packages and 10 license plate readers.
• Polk County requested $941,511.50 for ICE beds, officer bonuses and transportation.

Funding breakdown

• $3.3 million is for ICE detention beds across 24 agencies.
• $1.8 million is for transportation, including fuel, vans and mileage reimbursements.
• $1.78 million is for officer and correctional bonuses.
• $2.8 million is for equipment, including radios, ID scanners and body armor.

Federal funding

The state-level requests come days after the federal government awarded $38 million to state and local agencies nationwide for immigration enforcement efforts, a move described by federal officials as “historic funding,” according to the report. Florida agencies are expected to receive $10 million of that amount for their 287(g) operations.

ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan praised Florida’s aggressive enforcement, saying: “We truly have a historic partnership ... a partnership that has made it a priority to make sure that President Trump’s immigration policy and enforcement is enforced every single day.”

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