Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet on Wednesday approved more than $2 million in immigration enforcement money for local agencies seeking AI language translators, pepper spray, GPS trackers, handcuffs, bonuses, and more.
The $2.4 million greenlit to 10 law enforcement agencies means Florida has now approved roughly $21 million of the original $250 million diverted by the Legislature in February to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
DeSantis and the Cabinet members, who make up the newly created State Board of Immigration Enforcement, approved the money unanimously.
The board is part of a broader Florida crackdown on undocumented immigration. In February, the GOP-dominated Legislature approved a sweeping measure demanding all counties partner with ICE, creating state-level penalties for entering Florida without proper documentation, and removing in-state tuition for undocumented college students.
The Florida law came right as President Donald Trump took office, ordering mass deportations and setting aside mass sums of money for states to set up migrant detention centers. Florida was the first state to do so with "Alligator Alcatraz," a sprawling, controversial facility in the heart of the Everglades.
Where is the money going?The largest lump of the $2.4 million will go to the Martin County Sheriff's Office, which requested the most money ($738,451) for the widest-ranging variety of immigration-related activity.
After the Florida Highway Patrol, the South Florida county is responsible for the most encounters with suspected undocumented immigrants and the most non-citizens arrested on federal immigration charges, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's immigration dashboard.
Martin County's breakdown includes:
$2,546 for 30 handcuffs and 30 leg irons; $13,153 for tactical goggles, ballistic helmets, and bulletproof vests; $1,639 for 10 canisters of high-volume pepper spray; $271,103 for a rapid DNA testing machine; $136,736 for license plate readers; $185,029 for tasers; and $859 for Bluetooth rechargeable shooting ear protectors.
The next highest grant is for Volusia County Corrections, totaling $505,789. The asks include $68,400 for detention beds, $22,400 to train 40 officers under the 287(g) program, $43,000 in bonuses for correctional officers, $183,760 for six detection screening systems to check migrants for "contraband," $182,500 for a full-body security scanning system to check migrants for contraband, fevers, and health problems, $1,400 for 72 uniforms, and $4,100 for 50 mattresses.
GPS trackers, AI translators, and biometric scansThe remaining requests came from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the Madison Police Department, the Fruitland Park Police Department, the City of Port Richey Police Department, the town of Havana, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, the town of Welaka Police Department, and the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.
The majority of the money is for license plate readers, overtime, or bonuses for law enforcement or correctional officers. Fruitland Park received $22,300 for GPS trackers. According to the submitted request, the department plans to deploy the trackers against "a suspect vehicle … allowing officers to safely monitor vehicles suspected of transporting unauthorized aliens."
Havana received $93,687 for body-worn cameras, $90,088 for tasers, and $6,201 for nine universal AI language translators. These translators will "facilitate effective communication with non-English [speaking] individuals during stops and immigration focused activities."
Putnam County received $17,378 for six laptops; $5,793 for handcuffs, leg cuffs, and chains; $69,384 for 21 Rapid ID devices, and $2,557 for one "Rapid ID two finger biometric device accompanied by a DNA barcode."
These would be used to determine "accurate biometric identification of detainees."
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