PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Florida is offering law enforcement officers a one-time bonus for participating in becoming a designated immigration officer, and participating in at least one Department of Homeland Security task force operation, according to records WPTV obtained from the State Board of Immigration Enforcement.
The up to $1,000 bonus is one of many new policies Florida is funding for local law enforcement agencies across the state. Documents show those efforts, which include hardware upgrades along with other expenses, are costing the state millions of dollars.
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It’s one of the many efforts underway to help the Trump administration reach its goal of deporting 1 million people every year.
The State Board of Immigration Enforcement, according to records, will give the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office $998,602.39 for a number of different expenses it said is related to immigration enforcement.
The largest expense is related to equipment, hardware and software that will cost about $460,000. This includes six license plate readers, two long-range infrared lights, 10 rapid ID devices, a radio frequency identification for the jail, 120 DNA mouth swab kits and a web-based software system.
“The fast-processing speeds of these devices help uncover aliases and false identities, improving case integrity and reducing administrative errors. They are compact, mobile, and integrate with tablets, smartphones, and backend systems for smooth workflows," said the sheriff’s office justification statement. “Sheriff's deputies using this technology enhances the federal government's immigration enforcement efforts to protect national security.”
The board agreed to reward the money to the county on Tuesday. Those expenses also include 1,873 new inmate uniforms, overtime operations for eight officers to get deployed 10 times for six hours at a time along with transportation, training, lodging and travel for about seven deputies to learn immigration law at the ICE Academy in Charleston, South Carolina.
The county sheriff's office will also get money to sublet jail beds for suspected undocumented migrants along with transporting people to Stuart, Miami, Orlando and Alligator Alcatraz.
The records said around 110 deputies would get the $1,000 bonus, along with around 37 corrections deputies.
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According to records, the State Board of Immigration Enforcement gave the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office $994,373.50 for a number of expenses it said is related to immigration enforcement. The largest expense is related to subletting detention beds to ICE for 265 days, worth $530,000 — about 53% of the total the department received in grant money in September.
The second largest expense was for overtime costs related to transporting suspected undocumented migrants on behalf of ICE, worth $235,686.
The only equipment the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office received under the grant was 50 rapid ID devices.
“PBSO is requesting to purchase 50 rapid identification devices, which will allow officers to rapidly identify and apprehend unauthorized aliens who often do not carry identification and often change their names to avoid detection,” said the sheriff’s office justification statement. “This state-of-the-art technology uses multimodal biometric identification by capturing fingerprints and/or irises and photos (for facial recognition), submits the information to State or Federal databases, then returns hit results which also includes arrest history and warrant data.”
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The sheriff’s office said 40 deputies would get the $1,000 bonus.
According to records, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office only received $93,334 for a transport vehicle with a mobile radio and interior camera.
Beyond the money being spent on local law enforcement efforts, the Trump administration created a new rule to not allow immigration judges to give bond to people accused of entering the country illegally, regardless their background.
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Richard Hujber, an immigration attorney based in Boynton Beach, said this makes it more difficult to successfully stop somebody from getting deported.
“Preparing a case like that when you’re sitting there in custody across the country in terms of getting evidence, collecting testimony is almost impossible,” he said. “And they know that. That’s why they’re doing it.”
He said he doesn’t believe the practice is constitutional because other people accused of illegally being inside the country, like people who overstayed visas, are allowed to get bond.
The Board of Immigration Appeals for the U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review, commonly called Immigration Court, ruled the practice can continue. However, the ACLU is suing the Trump administration over the practice in federal court.
ACLU LAWSUIT:
On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced Larry Keefe would no longer lead the State Board of Immigration Enforcement at their meeting. The governor made the announcement on a phone call and praised Keefe who, records show, also played a part in the state’s efforts to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
"Larry has done a number of things in our administration over the years, and he has performed at a very high level with honor and integrity," said Gov. DeSantis.
He didn’t give any further details for Keefe’s departure. The governor said Anthony Coker, who was ICE’s liaison to Florida, would take over Keefe’s role on the state board.
