Florida’s emergency managers spent more than $405 million in taxpayer dollars in six months to fight illegal immigration, but that doesn’t just include law enforcement, state spending records show: It covers private jet flights, restaurant meals, and badges.
This means 70% of the state’s total immigration spending in four years occurred in the past six months. The disclosure comes as officials continue to insist Florida will be reimbursed hundreds of millions of dollars by the federal government — a promise federal authorities have cast serious doubt upon.
Records on the state’s government accountability website show that the Florida Division of Emergency Management used the state’s emergency respond fund to spend $405.6 million from August through February on 83 contracts with private vendors.
That figure includes expenditures like $479,000 to one private jet firm for staff flights to and from the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center and to support evacuation of Americans during the Israel-Hamas war; thousands spent at 55 restaurants; and a $203.72 purchase at “Awards4U,” a company that lets customers create their own badges, trophies, or awards.
FDEM says all purchases are above board.
The fund also paid more than $92 million to a single portable restroom company and nearly $30,000 on rental cars.
In a statement provided to the Phoenix, FDEM says that the food expenditures were for staff activated at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Tallahassee and Awards4U was for name badges.
“Since 2022, the Emergency Preparedness Response Fund has been used for the response and recovery efforts of a wide variety of disasters, to include natural, man-made and technological hazards,” communications director Stephanie Hartman said in an email. “$573 million has been spent on Operation Vigilant Sentry, and the $405 million is included within that total.”
She described a longstanding U.S. Department of Homeland Security operation to oppose undocumented immigration in the Caribbean Sea.
The state has hoped to be reimbursed for most of those costs with a $608 million federal grant — although the feds have claimed that they never promised to repay the state.
The Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund is a trust that allows the governor to quickly spend money during declared emergencies without legislative approval. Florida has been under a standing state of emergency for immigration since January 2023.
Bumpa’s Sports Bar, Pedro’s Tacos and Tequila, TLC Jet Services
Among the more notable expenses was $156,147.67 categorized as “food products” between August and February. That category includes payments to at least 55 restaurants — many of which are in the Tallahassee area — on the emergency fund’s dime, according to a review by the Phoenix.
This doesn’t count charges under this section made at the Vitamin Shoppe, Walmart, Wawa, Home Depot, or even the Tractor Supply Co.
- On Aug. 13, Sep. 3, and Oct. 8 three payments totaling $2,170.07 were made to Pedro’s Tacos and Tequila Bar, a Mexican restaurant chain in the Southeast.
- On Aug. 13, Oct. 7, and Oct. 27, three payments totaling $1,199.7 were made to Bumpa’s Sports Bar, in Tallahassee.
- On Oct. 8 and Oct. 27, two payments totaling $1,366 were made to Liberty Bar and Restaurant, a Tallahassee spot.
Hartman said all food costs — including the bars — were for staff meals at the EOC.
Midtown Caboose, Chick-Fil-a, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, and Bagel Bagel were paid more than $3,000 apiece. Slightly less expensive charges (under $1,800) were made at Outback Steakhouse, Kyoto Japanese Cuisine, and Korean BBQ.
Amazon Marketplace, meanwhile, saw more than $10K worth in transactions in this section, while Sam’s Club — a member’s only retailer — had more than $20K in payments.
The priciest single payment in the food section belonged to Shannon Outdoors, a rural Georgia company boasting insect-protective clothing, heavy duty camouflage, and thousand-dollar bows and arrows to protect adventurers in the Carolina lowlands.
FDEM spent $18,859.50 there on Aug. 13 for mosquito and insect protection, Hartman said.
Other payments include:
- A total of $479,209.33 to TLC Jet Services, a Fort Lauderdale private jet company. The business is listed under general contracted IT services (one $162,240 charge), supplies (two charges adding up to $87,167.60), and out-of-state airfare (two charges adding up to $229,801.73).
- Hartman: “TLC Jet expenses supported Israel evacuation efforts and enabled the rapid transport of state agency personnel to and from the southern detention facility to bring it online efficiently.”
- A $203.72 purchase at Awards4U on Dec. 2 listed under the “supplies” section. A Tallahassee company, its website boasts customizable awards, plaques, ribbons, and badges.
- Hartman: “Awards4U expenses covered name badges and State Emergency Response Team identification for personnel deployed during emergency operations.”
- $1.1 million to the Democratic-tied law firm Boies, Shiller & Flexner on Dec. 31, a high-profile crisis management law firm that represents Amazon, Facebook, Oracle, Apple, and Sony.
Political connections, Doodie Calls
Nearly $380 million of the $405 million shelled out since August went to contractors. Several of these vendors have ties to the DeSantis administration or the Republican Party of Florida, as previously reported by the Miami Herald.
This includes $20.7 million to the Texas disaster response company Gothams LLC; $9.2 million for the security service firm GardaWorld; and more than $25.5 million for three affiliates of CDR, an emergency management agency headed up by married GOP donors Carlos Duart and Tina Vidal-Duart.
Vidal Duart last week was confirmed to the FAU Board of Trustees.
The priciest contract belongs to the porta-potty company Doodie Calls. Since September, nine payments have been made totalling $92,765,075.38.
Additional payments include $403,626.05 on a mail security scanner, $27,244.53 spent on Avis car rentals, $11,660 to wildlife and pest control specialists, and $1,488 to a manufacturer of pocket badges.
Travel costs totaled $145,164 for in-state lodging, $253,676 for out-of-state airfare and $213,148 for foreign airfare, including $2,557 paid to the Spirit Airlines Charitable Foundation.
–Liv Caputo, Florida Phoenix
Deborah Coffey says
MAGA tax dollars at work! “The fund also paid more than $92 million to a single portable restroom company and nearly $30,000 on rental cars.” And, these are called emergencies?
Ray W says
Hello Deborah Coffey.
Dennis C. Rathsam ought to be all over this story, looking for evidence of massive fraud and waste.
Decades ago, as a prosecutor, whenever I traveled, I bought my own food and was reimbursed at a statutorily-set rate. I looked it up. The 2025 Florida statutorily-set rate of meal reimbursement for traveling state employees is $6 for breakfast, $11 for lunch, and $19 for dinner.
As an assistant public defender, if I had a deposition day in Fort Myers or Miami or Gainesville or Jacksonville, I was often on the road before dawn and home after dark, and was reimbursed for mileage travelled at, as I recall 55 cents per mile.
Once, a state auditor called me to ask why I had listed daily use of my state-issued car, for a month, yet I had listed 8 hours off for the month. I explained that whenever lunch took more than an hour, I counted the extra time against my vacation time. He accepted my explanation.
Laurel says
Yes, thank you. I usually traveled around the state about twice a year to conventions, and more often when I was a board member. The amount allowed barely covered the meal, and I always ended up covering the difference. Try getting a $6 meal in a hotel in Orlando! Gratuities were not included.
The only waste I saw was in budgeting, and it was system generated. If a budget was not fully used up, the next year’s budget would be reduced to the amount used during the current year. The system does not consider that some years require more purchases, while other years require less. So, the departments made sure they used up the budget so as to not lose the next year, often buying things not needed. Does it balance out? I don’t think so, as the goal was to fight for a larger budget for the few years that would need larger purchasing power.
why says
We must really be rolling in tourist dough! You’d think that maybe a per diem would be a better way to go. It’d be great if we could vote on these purchases!
Laurel says
why: If you saw the line items on multiple budgets, you certainly would not see people showing up to vote on each!
The problem lies on voting for whom you believe to be trusted to do the right thing. I know that’s laughable, but there actually are people out there who want to do the right thing. The problem is, people do not vett the people running. They just vote for the person with the most signs in the road, in their party. That means that politician has a lot of financial backing from those who profit.
It is beneficial to some candidates to keep the public overwhelmed. People vote one way or another, down the line, and go on with their lives. The greedy in each party usually wins, as does their financial supporters.
Buying Elections says
When the Fed does not reimburse for these expenses, DeSantis’ should be liable for the total bill as he used this money as his personal slush fund buying “goodwill” from the MAGA voters for his future re-run for President.
A republic if you can keep it.. says
If we had a justice department they would investigate Kevin and the people under him. But no worries he’s MAGA so he is OK.
The sad thing is that we have in District 06 Randy Fine who we pay substantial a salary, expenses and benefits so that he can try to pass key pieces of legislation for our benefit like:
The annexation by any means of Greenland .
The investigation of the NFL halftime show with a Puerto Rican singer …heart be still IN SPANISH.
The need to show not only ID ( it’s the law of the land ) but certificate of citizenship, passport or birth certificate ( ladies if you have a different last name now too bad)
These are some of the things he is using the job some people voted for him to do.
It’s a shame some people will vote for him again in November.
Instead of trying to do things
Sherry says
POLITICO:
For six months, dozens of judges appointed by Donald Trump have rebuffed — and sometimes pointedly rebuked — his administration’s effort to lock up thousands of immigrants under a novel reinterpretation of decades-old deportation laws.
This mass detention strategy, implemented by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has met an overwhelming rejection by federal judges appointed by every president since Ronald Reagan.
A POLITICO review finds that 373 have rejected the administration’s effort to require detention — without the possibility of bond — for anyone who crossed illegally into the United States, even if they’ve lived in the country for decades without incident. That contrasts with just 28 judges who have sided with the administration’s view.
Even judges Trump appointed are largely against him: 44 of them have ruled against the administration in mass-detention cases. Twenty Trump-appointed judges have signed off on the policy.
The divide underscores the limits of a president’s ability to control the jurists he puts on the bench. These judges, nearly all appointed during Trump’s first term, have likely contributed to his frustration over the recommendations he received from groups like the Federalist Society and judicial power player Leonard Leo.
They include Judges Stephanie Haines of Pennsylvania, John Holcomb of California and Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. of Texas, each of whom also rejected key prongs of Trump’s effort to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to carry out swift deportations without due process.
Also on the list are New York-based Eric Komitee, who reinstated protections for young immigrants over the Trump administration’s objection; Eric Tostrud, who upheld the seizure of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s phone during a 2020 election investigation and recently raised questions about ICE’s handling of the Alex Pretti crime scene in Minnesota; and Alan Albright, a Texas-based judge who tossed the Trump administration’s legal bid to eject labor unions from federal agencies.