MIAMI.– Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his cabinet approved $90 million in grants for 56 county and city police departments to purchase equipment linked to law enforcement against illegal immigration.
The decision was adopted unanimously in Tallahassee by the four members of the State Immigration Control Board, in order to expand the operational capacity of local agencies that collaborate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).
Unanimous approval
Voting in favor of DeSantis were Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who make up the board.
Of the 90 million dollars, 30.3 million correspond to new awards and 57 million to additional funds for organizations that had already requested help previously.
The resources cover the purchase of radios, body cameras, riot gear, ballistic helmets, X-ray machines, inmate restraint chairs and other items.
The biggest requests
In the latest batch of petitions, the Orange and Polk county sheriff’s offices claimed the highest numbers. Orange County submitted a $10 million proposal aimed mostly at equipment, with $9 million reserved for portable emergency service radios.
In turn, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office also requested 10 million, of which 8.7 million would be allocated to encrypted radio systems and servers. According to the request, the agency’s current equipment cannot communicate with ICE agents because it lacks encryption capabilities.
“With the proposed improvements, communication with ICE will be enabled, ultimately reducing the risk to our ICE officers and agents, and strengthening the overall security of our confidential communications,” states the document presented by the Polk Sheriff’s Office.
Expanding state program
The state has approved $147 million in immigration enforcement grants to date and has disbursed nearly $5 million to 25 local agencies, according to Transparency Florida, the official portal that tracks public spending.
The Legislature set aside a total of $250 million in 2025 to reimburse local law enforcement for purchases related to illegal immigration, including overtime for agents participating in operations with ICE.
The board also extended an emergency rule that allows agencies with current agreements with ICE to be reimbursed for vehicle purchases. Under that provision, each agency can acquire a multi-passenger van to transport immigrants between county, state and federal detention centers.
Beyond the big cities
The package included counties from different regions of the state. In Palm Beach County, the Boynton Beach Police Department was listed with $545,668, all classified as equipment, hardware and software linked to the 287(g) immigration enforcement program.
The application provides for a two-year technology platform and transcription tools for the analysis of body camera images and digital evidence.
The grants are part of Florida’s policy of supporting local government collaboration with federal immigration authorities with state resources, a priority that the DeSantis administration has maintained over the last year.
