Is that a puzzled look on Kevin Guthrie’s face? The state emergency management director was with Gov. Ron DeSantis in Flagler Beach in October 2022. (© FlaglerLive)The DeSantis administration spent nearly two-thirds of Florida’s emergency fund last fiscal year on fighting illegal immigration, dwarfing spending for severe weather, international rescues, and other emergency missions for which the fund was created.
State records show that the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the agency in charge of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Deportation Depot” lockups, shelled out $890 million in taxpayer dollars between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.
Of that, $564 million — about 63% — went to immigration enforcement, meaning emergency managers spent more on immigration than all emergency missions combined last year.
The rest paid for assistance to counties and other states, costs associated with rescuing Americans from Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, and severe weather — including snow in the Panhandle, storms in Northwest Florida, and heavy October rainfall.
The spending represents a significant shift in the purpose of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, a trust created in 2022 to allow Gov. Ron DeSantis to quickly pay for disasters like hurricanes, floods, and more without legislative approval.
But in 2023, the trust became a financing vehicle for one of DeSantis’ top priorities: immigration. Gearing up for a presidential run and enjoying an iron grip over the GOP Legislature, DeSantis declared a state of emergency on immigration — one that he’s renewed at least 20 times since.
This opened the fund’s dollars to immigration enforcement, allowing FDEM to spent $573 million out of it since 2023 — 98% of which was paid for in the past year. This is largely because of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Deportation Depot,” facilities, state-run detention centers erected last summer, lauded by President Trump, and mirrored by Republican states nationwide.
But these costs represent just a fraction of the total to be spent on immigration. As the Phoenix previously reported, immigration contracts signed by FDEM are valued at roughly $1.01 billion. This doesn’t include isolated immigration costs like food, supplies, or travel.
FDEM still owes the vendors that built and ran the facilities at least another half a billion dollars.
Despite those outstanding costs, the fund has under $7 million left. Lawmakers approved another $250 million for the trust in June, but FDEM hasn’t asked for the money yet.
The agency also missed the deadline for a new quarterly report detailing the fund’s health and cash projections, a requirement lawmakers added this year. Representatives of the Senate president and House speaker told the Phoenix they had not received the report, which was due five days ago. FDEM did not respond to questions about when it would submit the information.
Immigration spending from the fund last fiscal year exceeded the individual costs of several past emergency responses, including Hurricane Idalia, Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Nicole, and evacuation flights for Americans from Israel and Haiti.
The estimated $1.01 billion in immigration-related contracts, meanwhile, would rank as the third-largest use of the trust since its creation, behind only Hurricane Ian ($2.5 billion) and Hurricane Milton ($1.5 billion).
–Liv Caputo, Florida Phoenix
Laurel says
But there’s not enough money for school lunches, SNAP, Meals on Wheels, Social Security (we, and our employers, paid into for decades), Medicare (we paid into for decades), and Medicaid. You know, those socialist programs for Americans. Thanks, to the Party of Fiscal Responsibility. “America First!”
To DeSantis, and fans, this gross amount of money is well spent on getting rid of the people who build our homes, pick our food, care for our children and us in our homes, clean our homes and provide services when we go on vacation.
And this idiot wants to run for President.
How about a war? One that was not an obnoxious expense until Trump started it. More to come. He’s bankrupting the world, and us to boot. Watch your gas tank. Enjoy your $14 bag of crap coffee. Make America Great Again…for the 1%.
And just will us Americans First have left? Rainbows and unicorns? Or will we be “suckers and losers”?
JimboXYZ says
Gas prices ? Fact, we were paying this price/gallon under Biden in 2023. We got spoiled by 2025 gas prices under Trump-Vance. We were paying this much for groceries too under Biden. $ 6+ per dozen eggs, that was 2024, Biden-Harris striving to be re-elected. Coffee was that expensive under Biden-Harris too. When every inflation has become what it was for 2021-2024, who ushered in the era of inflationary economy ? That’s no excuse for Trump not getting prices back in order. I’m on record of saying Trump-Vance couldn’t fix Biden-Harris inflation without tanking the economy into recession. And the wars, Iran War is a spinoff of Israel Palestine war that Iran was behind for funding Hamas. We don’t hear a peep on the Ukrainian War that started in May 2021 under Biden-Harris ? And the Russo-Ukraine War started in 2014 under Obama-Biden. That would be the timeline for Biden’s involvement with Ukraine ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war_(2022%E2%80%93present)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Biden#Burisma_Holdings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Biden#BHR_Partners
https://www.bbc.com/news/war-in-ukraine
Courtney says
But I was told that Republicans are the party of fiscal responsibility…insert clown emoji here. Republicans have been the source of every recession, every forever war. They are the reason why we, the people who pay taxes, are in danger of having Social Security become insolvent. They are the reason why we are 39.5 TRILLION dollars in debt. They should be punching themselves in the face as real estate values slump and work slows as all of the workers who farm, build homes, and offices are deported for the crime of working to provide for their families while providing a service to us. Immigration benefits our country and anyone who says otherwise is just trying to incite hate to get you to look the other way while they rob you blind.
Florida was a great place to live when it was a purple state – both parties working together to keep Florida beautiful. Remember when we could actually afford to live here? Those were the days! Many of the reasons why we have some of the nice things we have is because of the contributions of Democrats. The only reason we can vote by mail is because a democratic governor made it so. We were not wasting billions of our emergency management funds on immigration so that a mediocre man could improve his resume as he runs for president.
I implore my fellow Floridians, the people who can remember how Florida used to be, the people who are tired of this constant drama, to look past their partisan instincts and look at the hate and divide the current leadership has wrought on this state and country, and vote for the ones who cherish Florida and Floridians – not the pretenders…the ones who only care about money and power.
I for one, am over all of this shit.
Deborah Coffey says
Ron DeSantis is a despicable human being and everything he does is vomitous, Why doesn’t Antifa have a real organization with a leader and lots of money? We need to stop these Fascists in their ugly tracks.
Atwp says
I’ve said before and I’ll say again. People voted for this administration and this is what they get. Suffering consequences for unwise voting decisions. Don’t forget the lives that are lost because of this don’t care Republican decisions. This is the worse Republican Party in my lifetime. A war, higher prices, people loosing their jobs and homes. People cast their ballots for Republicans and this is what they get.
Jim says
I don’t see the problem here….
The fact that the Florida Disaster Fund spent more money on immigration than anything else is quite appropriate.
After all, can anyone here tell me of a greater disaster in this state in the past year than the immigration war? I just want to thank DeSantis for spending so much money for so little gain. Makes me thankful we have a MAGA Republican governor. After all, Republicans are known for their fiscal restraint and prudent spending….
And to @Laurel: You state “But there’s not enough money for school lunches, SNAP…” You just have to understand that the Republicans are strongly in favor of everyone having children but not at all interested in providing any assistance to anyone who is financially strapped while trying to raise said child! It’s in the Bible somewhere (I can’t find it) and I’m sure Jesus also supported that viewpoint (again, I can’t find it…).
JimboXYZ says
Yet nobody from the Democrat side wants to take credit for 4 years of open borders & growth. You know, secure a border and the money somehow is still there, maybe even still in taxpayers bank accounts ? The inflationary magic of Bidenomics, what the costs to undo unspoken Biden-Harris damages & costs ? I don’t doubt there isn’t fraud & abuse in any of that too. Probably why the Property Tax Legislation is out there as it’s own Trojan Horse of fraud & abuse ? The solution that isn’t a solution. The prior vs next budgetary process of moving budget buckets around to arrive at the same budget crisis for more inflation. The next round of a money grab to launder the tax revenues. Life in the USA as a Ponzi Scheme.
Joe D says
I’m just praying, for the sake of my fellow FLORIDIANS, that we don’t have any major STATE disasters in the next 5 years ( which is a statistical improbability given the recent past of serious storms), until our legislature (and TAXPAYERS) can rebuild this drained Disaster Fund, from the WASTE and MISMANAGEMENT of our current Governor ( in my opinion), just so he could win FAVOR with the CURRENT resident of the WHITE HOUSE, hoping to be it’s NEXT OCCUPANT…God Help Us!!!
Steve says
Would they have had to spend so much money if they’re weren’t so many allowed to come here?
celia says
Steve: “The many allowed to come” here didn’t cost you $4 -6/gallon at the pump nation wide or 3 times your groceries or double or more anything we bought 4 years ago! Stop p…ng against the wind and getting us all contaminated!