All 67 of Florida’s county sheriffs agree to work with ICE to crack down on illegal immigration

Timing is Everything: Ron DeSantis revives E-Verify enforcement amid power struggle with lawmakers.

All 67 of Florida’s county sheriffs have signed agreements with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to support President Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.

“We’re the only state in the country where all of the counties have done this,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Homestead.

What’s next is reaching similar agreements with more than 400 police departments in the state, DeSantis said.

Under the new agreements, sheriff’s deputies gain more immigration enforcement power with ICE supervision. Local sheriff’s offices will be able to interrogate suspected illegal immigrants, arrest and detain people caught trying to enter Florida illegally and serve or execute warrants for immigration violations.

Critics say the state is unfairly targeting some people who have lived in Florida for decades and pay taxes after they entered the country illegally years ago.

The sheriff’s agreements come as Florida Highway Patrol and several other state agencies have reached similar deals with the federal government.

DeSantis detailed some of the law enforcement’s arrests so far — including two undocumented immigrants from Jamaica arrested for distributing fentanyl in the Panhandle, he said. In another case, Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested someone who arrived illegally into the United States and was wanted for state and federal child pornography charges, DeSantis said.

The Governor also continued to slam former President Joe Biden for not doing enough to deport illegal immigrants.

“When Biden was President, there were these people (who) were just knowingly out there. They knew that some of these people were out there, and they just decided not to do anything about it,” DeSantis said. “Those days are over, and I’m glad Florida is part of the solution.”

Part of the package of immigration bills passed earlier this month provides $250 million in reimbursement for local enforcement’s expenses to get involved.

Democrats voiced frustrations that state taxpayers are footing the bill for immigration instead of the federal government. 

At his news conference, DeSantis reiterated that he supports a bill requiring all employers — including small employers with fewer than 25 workers — to use E-Verify to confirm employees’ legal work status.

Sen. Jason Pizzo, Democrat from Sunny Isles Beach, filed SB 782 earlier this month after he accused Republicans of not doing enough during the Special Session to target employers who hire illegal workers, which he said was the root of the problem.

DeSantis said he believes the Legislature will pass it when Regular Session reconvenes next month.

“We want to make sure that we get that signed into law as soon as possible,” DeSantis said.