Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Mandates 287(g) Program at County Level

Late last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that mandates law enforcement agencies across the state overseeing county detention centers work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce immigration laws in the state through the use of detainers.

According to a press release by the governor’s office, the state bill requires that Florida law enforcement agencies “enter into a written agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to participate in the 287(g) program.”

A 287(g) cooperative agreement allows local police in those jurisdictions to be trained to enforce federal immigration laws. This training provides state and local police with additional tools to prosecute crimes committed by aliens, especially gang violence and document fraud while reducing the impact of illegal immigration on local communities.

The state bill also “makes it illegal for a government entity to contract with a carrier company if that business is ‘willfully providing any service in furtherance of transporting’ to people whom they know are undocumented in the U.S. unless it is for deportation or detention purposes,” reports The Hill.

The Hill article continues:

“People will say ‘Well, let Texas worry about that or Arizona or whatever,’” DeSantis, who is considered a possible 2024 GOP presidential contender, said.

“Let me tell you, people coming illegally, a lot of them are trying to get here in the state of Florida, OK? And so this is something that absolutely affects us,” he said.

Also, under Gov. DeSantis, the state of Florida banned the existence of “sanctuary cities” in 2019.

You can read the full article here.