WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida could soon use state resources to hold undocumented migrants following changes to policy in immigration enforcement at the federal level.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a Thursday news conference in Broward County that if asked by the federal government, he would allow the Florida Department of Emergency Management to work with the Department of Homeland Security to help build more detainment spaces.
WATCH BELOW: Could state resources be used to detain migrants?
The declaration comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged some of its detention facilities are operating "temporary" over capacity. This comes as migrants and advocates, like nonprofits and attorneys, complain about inhumane conditions.
"We have the capacity to set it up quickly, but we're not going to do that without the approval of Homeland Security," DeSantis said Thursday. "That could potentially be short-term support for the lack of space that the feds may have."
The governor compared setting up extra space to hold undocumented migrants to the efforts to set up locations for power line workers during hurricanes.
Broward
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He said Homeland Security has been focusing on immigration law enforcement operations like "Operation Tidal Wave," which federal and state officials said led to the arrest of 1,120 people over a six-day period. Officials said this figure was the highest in any state over that period of time.
With the increase of detainees, people have been concerned about overcrowded facilities creating inhumane conditions.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., and Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., on Friday toured an ICE detention facility in Pompano Beach called the Broward Transitional Center. Their visit comes after a 44-year-old Haitian woman died last week while in federal custody at the center.
The two federal lawmakers from South Florida said conditions inside the facility included having one doctor and people sleeping on the floor.
Immigration attorneys, who have been inside these facilities, have described similar conditions while visiting their clients.
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