Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet next week will consider approximately $90 million in grants for local law enforcement agencies throughout the state.
The money will go toward a fire suppression system for a server room in Escambia County, handguns for Santa Rosa County, drones for Alachua County and “official police” patches for uniformed officers with the Auburndale Police Department.
DeSantis and the Cabinet – Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson – comprise the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, which will consider the grant requests at its meeting Tuesday.
The board this year has already disbursed almost $5 million in funds to 25 local law enforcement agencies, according to Transparency Florida, a state website that tracks government spending.
Lawmakers in 2025 set aside $250 million to reimburse local law enforcement for purchases related to illegal immigration enforcement, including overtime for officers who participate in operations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Out of the $90 million in grants in this round of requests, $30.3 million are new awards and $57 million are additional funds for law enforcement agencies that had already asked for assistance.
The most expensive request is from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which is asking for $10 million for equipment. According to the budget request, $9 million of that is going to 910 portable radios.
Since the state began ramping up its illegal immigration enforcement in 2025, the Orange County Jail has been used to house immigrants from across the state who have been detained on federal immigration charges, a civil offense.
But federal reimbursements for bed space do not cover the actual price of housing someone on an ICE hold. Earlier this week, to decrease costs, the Orange County Commission recently approved a new agreement with the jail that prevents ICE from housing detainees unless they also have a criminal charge.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the second highest amount of funds in its proposal – a little over $8 million. About $5 million of the money will be used for communication equipment, including radios. Notably, the county is asking for $600,000 for two Skywatch mobile towers to “enhance situation awareness and support immigration enforcement operations.”
The sheriff’s office in Liberty County, a rural county in the panhandle, wants $647,809 for riot gear suits, car laptops and a LessLethal Launcher System with aerial flashbangs and muzzle blasts.
“These tools provide deputies with distance‑based, less‑lethal options for gaining compliance during high‑risk apprehensions, coordinated enforcement actions, or incidents involving multiple non‑compliant individuals,” the proposal says. “Because immigration‑related encounters may involve fearful, resistant, or group‑based situations, having a range of proportional, less‑lethal tools supports de‑escalation, reduces the likelihood of serious injury, and helps resolve volatile situations safely.”
In the amended proposals, some law enforcement agencies have increased their requests by millions of dollars.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office originally asked for about $649,000 but now wants an additional $8 million for equipment.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office also resubmitted their request for $4.4 million more to purchase a camera system, spotlight, night vision goggles and pilot protective equipment for helicopter use.
In its proposal, the sheriff’s office said it expanded its detention facility and opened up two new housing blocks, with 21% of its total bed space now designated for undocumented immigrant inmates.
The additional operational housing units require the purchase of automatic chest compression units, defibrillators, televisions for ICE hearing and conference rooms and modular privacy booths for attorney-client privilege, and exercise equipment.
“Providing adequate exercise resources also assist in reducing inmate idleness, negative behaviors, and detention operational disruptions directly contributing to safer and more efficient detention operations for both staff and detainees,” the proposal says.
All of the requests have been approved by the board’s Executive Director Anthony Coker. The board will meet June 9.
–Ana Goñi-Lessan, News Service of Florida
Dan Leonard says
Double that money and you could arm 6th graders too. Just to keep people safe. Florida must be as lawless as Seattle, New York City, Minneapolis, Cuba, Iraq. More money, more guns and surveillance doesn’t solve the problem.
Michael John says
Doesn’t make financial sense to me as a tax payer to round up, inprison, feed, cloth and provide health care for working folks because they have the wrong document in their pocket. Or wrong color skin or foreign accent. We are a diverse Nation of Immigrants. Sad for my Country that folks make money from putting humans in prison. I have no problem what so ever with putting convicted criminals in jail. Like the ones that stormed the Capital and our Dear Leader pardoned. You know the ones that smeared feces on the wall, jail time for them for sure!
JOE D says
I guess our State CFO in his state wide mobile financial SIDE SHOW, hasn’t put his Excessive Government Spending/Waste “stamp” on this ridiculous waste of tax payer money. OF COURSE, the Federal per day payment doesn’t cover the full cost of holding ICE detainees, that was the whole PLAN ( in my opinion)…shift the day to day management/ expense of this FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT FARCE, onto the Florida Taxpayers. I THOUGHT that our ENFORCER IN CHIEF “said” these ICE detentions were to take the “WORST OF THE WORST” criminals off the streets. Now Orange County is admitting they are detaining illegal immigrant “suspects” who don’t even have FEDERAL CHARGES!!! So Orange County wants to be able to refuse to house illegal FEDERAL immigrants, UNLESS THEY HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH A CRIME…. Isn’t that what our fearless leader TOLD US HE WAS GOING TO DO FROM THE BEGINNING…“the WORST of the WORST,”…yeah…RIGHT!? PROPAGANDA at its BEST!
I’ve had US born Citizen friends of Asian and Hispanic decent tell me that make sure they ( and their US borne children) are ALWAYS carrying a copy of their US birth certificate with them at all times due to fears of being caught up in a general ICE enforcement dragnet. And then there are the stories ( I can’t provide the specific documentation) that even with the birth certificate, ICE OFFICERS are independently deciding the ID is FAKE. Talk about shades of 1930’s Nazi Germany…”Show me your PAPERS,”…OMG!
Get ready Florida taxpayers to expect to be digging deeper into YOUR POCKETS to pay for all this CIRCUS! And you don’t even get POPCORN for your “ticket” money (that was sarcasm, if you didn’t notice). And because it’s POLICE ENFORCEMENT, it’s likely going to be EXEMPT from budget cuts under any HOMESTEAD tax cut …
Dennis C Rathsam says
Lets thank BIDEN & HARRIS, the 2 brilliant jackasses that refused to close the border. Lie after lie was told as the American people saw it happen live on TV. We saw the millions of invaders pouring in. On live TV Biden told us he couldn’t or wouldnt without an act of Congress. In reality we needed a new president. TRUMP didn’t ask them to close the border, he told them too! Then gas went down fast as could be. Inflation was 3% or less! Then the IRAN WAR, Every president before TRUMP said Iran can have nukes, but all they did was aid the sleeping giant. The one that VOWES to kill America! TRUMP took care of business, gas went up, so what a small price to pay. You jackasses have short memories, Biden gas was way more than TRUMPS! Bacon & Eggs didn’t skyrocket! Did you forget BIDENS inflation of 9%? TRUMPS DEPORTING thousands every day. Look at all the damage done by Biden, he has the blood of the murdered girls on his hands. TRUMP will lead us into a future of success, the likes no one has seen!
R.S. says
I give up on you, Mr. Rathsam. You appear not to have been born into gentlemanly status and live up to your reputation. Where on earth do you get your information? From deceased dreams? Your narrative bears no resemblance to any reality. Did you learn your craft at the feet of the liar that inhabits the WH at this point in time?
Deirdre says
I saw today that alligator Alcatraz is forcing immigrants to sign papers written in English giving away their rights, and if they don’t do it they withhold food and water. The point is to force them to leave, they’re not even able to understand the paperwork because they don’t read English.
I heard this from a very reputable source, Aaron Parnas, these politicians in Florida just make me sick.
I’ll never get over the shock of having Trump’s ice militia literally being able to get away with murder and torture with full immunity. Withholding food and water is torture and an atrocity happening right here in Florida, but they get away with it! They need to be stopped, people need to vote in favor of humanity instead of voting in favor of hate and greed.
What happened to the 1,200 missing people from alligator Alcatraz months ago? Every now and then I’ll google it for an update and they’re just aren’t any. Where did those people go?
Laurel says
Same stupid shit, another day.
R.S. says
But federal reimbursements for bed space do not cover the actual price of housing someone on an ICE hold. Earlier this week, to decrease costs, the Orange County Commission recently approved a new agreement with the jail that prevents ICE from housing detainees unless they also have a criminal charge.
Kudus to Orange County. Finally, someone who insists on due process having been met before anyone goes to jail. I should have expected this from Staly and all the rest around the state.
Deborah Coffey says
Just remember, idiots, when you create a hell on Earth for people, you go to hell for eternity. That hell you’re creating isn’t just for immigrants, most of whom had jobs and paid taxes, it’s for all of us taxpayers, too. STOP IT!
Dan says
Found the wasteful spending that could put to better use in enhancing communities, helping those underprivileged, and homeless. But nah, let’s arm up the mini-militaries around the state to round up brown folk. White people man, sometimes I loathe being one.
Keenan Hreib says
250 years in July. TRUMP and all who live in agreement with anything in his atmosphere have proven that they hate the country and themselves.
Without humanity and plain common sense the American Experiment will fail. SURELY.