By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that several Florida police agencies are experiencing the loss of officers to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)?
Recently, Congress passed what Republicans refer to as the “Big Beautiful Bill” which includes $8 billion to hire 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by 2029. The hiring process has already begun which is actively recruiting state and local officers who have completed immigration-enforcement training, even offering a $50,000 signing bonus for a five-year commitment.
Now that ICE is expanding its workforce from 20,000 to 30,000 employees over five years, and is using financial incentives to recruit trained Florida officers, leading to tensions with state leadership.
Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed concern over the recruitment of Florida officers by ICE, criticizing the federal agency for “poaching” personnel who are already involved in immigration enforcement through state-level 287(g) agreements, arguing it merely shifts officers between agencies without increasing overall enforcement capacity.
DeSantis has advised all Florida sheriffs to defend their agencies; “Fight for what you think is right. This isn’t my policy…It’s coming down from ICE. So, by all means, speak up.”