ORLANDO, Fla. —Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a new agreement that empowers Florida Highway Patrol troopers to assist federal agents in enforcing immigration laws.
“Now we’ve got a partner who is committed to enforcing the law,” Republican Florida DeSantis said during a news conference from Tallahassee Friday.
He was referring to President Donald Trump.
{snip}
Specifically, nearly 2,000 Florida Highway Patrol troopers will have the authority to serve warrants, detain, arrest, interrogate and fingerprint those suspected of being undocumented.
And not just on the roads but at all points of entry into the Sunshine State, including airports, seaports, and anywhere along our coastline.
“This is a deputization of state enforcement entities. It will allow our ongoing operations to continue, but it will also establish a permanent path forward for dealing with illegal migrants in police custody,” DeSantis said.
Their new authority under what’s called a 287(g) agreement of the Immigration and Nationality Act “allows the Department of Homeland Security to enter into formal written agreements that deputize selected state and local law enforcement officers to perform certain functions of federal immigration agents.”
{snip}
Immigration rights groups immediately pushed back, with Thomas Kennedy of the Florida Immigrant Coalition telling WESH 2 News, “It is moving us toward a prosecutorial police state: Florida. We’re becoming a show me your paper state.”
“This is less about policy and more about politics,” said Democratic Orlando state Rep. Anna Eskamani.
She believes the only reason the governor announced the agreement with DHS is because he deadlocked with his own party’s leadership in the special session last week, that resulted in the House and Senate approving the “Trump Act,” which would take control of immigration enforcement away from DeSantis, and put it in the hands of Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.
In the end, Eskamani said it’s all about Trump.
{snip}
Eskamani believes the use of troopers in immigration enforcement will reduce the amount of time they’re protecting and serving the public on the roads.
