Local Police Grants for Immigration Enforcement Get Cabinet OK

By The News Service of Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet, sitting as the State Board of Immigration, on Tuesday approved approximately $40 million in grants for immigration enforcement.

It was a last-minute drop of millions of dollars compared to the previous funding request of $53 million attached to the Cabinet agenda.

State Board of Immigration Enforcement Executive Director Anthony Coker told Cabinet members the Lee County Sheriff’s Office would be modified “to include two years of equipment” for approximately $9.9 million instead of the original request of $23 million.

Lee County changed a six-year contract for body cameras with AI translation, an $18 million contract, to a two-year contract costing $4.3 million.

Of the $40 million approved on Tuesday, about $14 million of the funds were for new awards, Coker said, and the remaining $26 million was to go to agencies who were amending their requests and asking for more money.

The state has set aside $250 million to reimburse local law enforcement for purchases related to illegal immigration enforcement and has already approved tens of millions of dollars in requests.

That money has been earmarked for body cameras, license plate readers, surveillance towers, software, 287(g) training and bed space for detained immigrants in jail, among other requests.