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'On edge': Possible citizenship verification has Manatee County nonprofits searching for answers
February 28, 2026 at 5:00 AM EST
Commissioners are expected to consider a plan to update funding agreements with nonprofits in response to a federal law that bars undocumented immigrants from receiving state and local benefits. Nonprofits that don’t comply would lose their county funding.
Local nonprofits fear a provision under consideration in Manatee County to prohibit them from serving undocumented immigrants could jeopardize millions of dollars in funding, causing gaps in critical family services.
Manatee County commissioners are expected to consider a plan to update funding agreements with nonprofits in response to a federal law that bars undocumented immigrants from receiving state and local benefits.
Nonprofits that don’t comply would lose their county funding, which goes toward programs like early childhood development, adult shelters, dental services, sexual assault advocacy and drug addiction recovery.
Reviving a proposal first pitched in September, commissioners contend taxpayer dollars are paying for services for those living in the country without authorization, but haven’t outlined any details about how nonprofits are expected to comply or whether they’ll receive additional resources to do so.
Suncoast Searchlight and the Bradenton Herald spoke to leaders at five community nonprofits who all expressed concern and frustration with the proposal. Three asked to remain anonymous due to the political stakes.
They fear the ambiguity of the provision means that without additional support, they won’t have resources to verify the immigration status of everyone they serve – an extra step that could delay crucial help from reaching those in need.
If approved, the updated language would impact at least 86 organizations that receive more than $26 million annually from Manatee County. Of that, $20 million goes to dozens of children’s services nonprofits, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County and Step Up Suncoast. Health and human services includes nonprofits like the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity. The county provides almost $4 million in funding across 39 health and human services programs.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County, pictured here, offers afterschool and summer programs for kids and teens to build academic success and character skills. (600x338, AR: 1.7751479289940828)
The discussion comes amid a broader national crackdown on immigration from President Donald Trump’s administration that has involved the mass arrest and deportation of thousands of undocumented immigrants using tactics that have sparked national outcry and protests.
It also has involved more subtle moves.
In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order “to ensure taxpayer resources are not used to incentivize or support illegal immigration” and ordered federal departments to “take corrective action” on programs that were using federal funds to provide financial benefits for undocumented immigrants.
The Manatee County provision aligns with Trump’s order on a local level. Commissioners haven’t discussed specifics on the provision, and a date for a vote hasn’t been set.
For Step Up Suncoast CEO Amy Yount, verifying every client’s immigration status before helping them is more than just an extra step –– it’s time and money that isn’t easy to get back.
“We would anticipate that that would take lots of additional staff time, which is fine, but that turns into dollars,” said Yount, whose nonprofit helps students achieve academic success and low-income families find economic independence. “When that turns into dollars, then that can make it so that we have less dollars to actually provide the services.”
A routine presentation quickly turned political
At a January meeting of the Manatee County Commission, a routine presentation on nonprofit funding quickly turned political when it morphed into a discussion on immigration.
First, Commissioner Jason Bearden asked how many unauthorized immigrants received free dental care and other services from the nonprofits the county supports.
Then, Commissioner Amanda Ballard echoed the idea that taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be used to provide free services for undocumented immigrants when other groups, such as disabled veterans and low-income households, remain in need.
Next, the board agreed that any money spent to support area nonprofits should not help immigrants without proper documentation. Commissioners provided no evidence that funding was supporting undocumented immigrants.
Neither Ballard nor Bearden responded to multiple phone calls and emails for this story.
Manatee County Commissioners discuss changes to the county’s nonprofit funding requirements at the Jan. 27 meeting (600x334, AR: 1.7964071856287425)
At the same meeting, County Attorney Pamela D’Agostino told commissioners that the county could model language in its nonprofit agreements to mirror a federal law to “avoid legal challenges.” The law states that “illegal aliens” are ineligible for state and local public benefits, which includes some county-funded nonprofits.
The statute doesn’t target nonprofits that provide “in-kind services,” or short-term services like providing a bed in a shelter or a meal at a soup kitchen. It also excludes emergency medical attention, immunization assistance from communicable diseases and short-term disaster relief assistance, as long as the unauthorized immigrant in question doesn’t receive financial help.
“We can easily choose to insert that language into our contracts and not allow this,” Ballard said at the January meeting. “Right now, we’re choosing not to track it…so we have no idea whether our tax dollars are going to people who are in the country illegally to provide them with free services.”
Applications for health and human services nonprofits were set to open on Feb. 6 and close March 13. Now, the deadline has been delayed indefinitely to allow time for the additional language to be inserted in the agreements.
Chairman Tal Siddique, who at the same meeting had agreed to delay funding applications to “see some language in there that evaluates citizenship in future nonprofit agreements,” told reporters he was unavailable to provide a comment this week.
Commissioner George Kruse, who was outspoken against a similar provision during a meeting last September, declined to comment on the latest provision, saying he was unaware of its details.
When the proposal first arose last year, he noted that 86% of the $23.9 million in county funding for nonprofits goes toward children’s services, and that it was “petty” to punish kids for a choice they had no part in.
Numerous nonprofit leaders took the podium in September during public comment to scrutinize the ambiguity of the proposal, highlighting their lack of resources to verify every client’s immigration status and the burden it would place on children.
Commissioners struck down the provision then with a 4-3 vote, and didn’t hint that a similar plan could resurface.
Though children’s services and logistical concerns weren’t mentioned during the January meeting, last year’s discussion could be a preview into what nonprofits can expect.
The sudden pivot has been jarring for many local nonprofit leaders who thought the issue was behind them.
Yount, who’s been with Step Up Suncoast for 23 years and has served as CEO since 2021, added that steps like extra verification could seem “insurmountable” to families in need. If they must provide documents like a birth certificate, it may cause delays for a family already dealing with other stressors.
“I would be sad for the children that might end up in that situation,” Yount said.
Nonprofits navigate an ambiguous future
Dawn Stanhope, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County, is among those worried about the ramifications.
She said she didn’t hear anything from the county before or after their January discussion. Stanhope said their remarks make it hard to prepare for what’s coming.
Dawn Stanhope has been president of the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County since 2021. (600x414, AR: 1.4492753623188406)
“We’re all for complying with whatever the laws and regulations are that we need to follow,” Stanhope said. “However, there was a lot of ambiguity around how we would implement what they were looking for. We don’t feel that we’re subject matter experts and are being equipped to really be able to determine whether or not someone would be eligible for those services.”
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County offers afterschool and summer programs for kids and teens to build academic success and character skills. Stanhope has served as the president of the nonprofit since 2014.
Nonprofit leaders said they feel left in the dark. There was no acknowledgement of the hurdles faced last year and no communication to better understand the needs and capabilities of their organizations –– just a unanimous vote and an indefinite delay on the applications many were ready to or already had submitted.
Yount said it doesn’t have to be this way, as there’s still time for the county and nonprofits “to come up with clear, workable systems that would work for the nonprofits and achieve what the county wants to achieve.”
Funding applications for children’s services nonprofits closed on Jan. 30, and commissioners didn’t indicate if additional language on citizenship could impact those applications.
One nonprofit leader said the timing of these discussions is frustrating from an administrative standpoint. They said nearly 30 children’s services nonprofits have already submitted applications, and further discussions on this provision could delay the approval of essential county funding.
Since it wasn’t specified at the January meeting, Stanhope said she’s unsure if her children’s services nonprofit needs to be prepared to comply with guidelines that could otherwise gut their county funding.
“I don’t feel comfortable signing an affidavit saying, ‘I will make sure that we do not bill back the county for anyone who’s undocumented,’ when I don’t know how to even verify that for a child to begin with,” Stanhope said.
Step Up Suncoast, which received about $2.9 million from Manatee County in fiscal year 2026, supports families across five counties in financial literacy, school readiness and healthy family resources. The Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide early childhood development programs for children up to 5 years old.
The nonprofit already verifies the citizenship status of at least one person in a household for federal funding. But Yount said county provisions could add additional steps.
E-Verify and Social Security are common ways to verify eligibility for certain benefits and employment. However, one nonprofit leader noted that many are in the country legally without a Social Security number, like those who are awaiting asylum hearings.
Other nonprofits expressed concerns over losing volunteers and staff who don’t feel comfortable carrying out that type of work – or are worried one mistake could lead to a lawsuit.
With details scarce, Stanhope said she’s focused on serving the community until a clearer picture is painted.
“A lot of nonprofits are on edge. When you don’t know what to expect, you’re just sort of holding your breath, waiting,” Stanhope said. “But I also know that we work in a world where there’s always uncertainty. I’m going to do the best I can with whatever the circumstances warrant.”
This project is a collaboration between the Bradenton Herald and Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.
This story was originally published by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom delivering investigative journalism to Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.
Manatee County commissioners are expected to consider a plan to update funding agreements with nonprofits in response to a federal law that bars undocumented immigrants from receiving state and local benefits.
Nonprofits that don’t comply would lose their county funding, which goes toward programs like early childhood development, adult shelters, dental services, sexual assault advocacy and drug addiction recovery.
Reviving a proposal first pitched in September, commissioners contend taxpayer dollars are paying for services for those living in the country without authorization, but haven’t outlined any details about how nonprofits are expected to comply or whether they’ll receive additional resources to do so.
Suncoast Searchlight and the Bradenton Herald spoke to leaders at five community nonprofits who all expressed concern and frustration with the proposal. Three asked to remain anonymous due to the political stakes.
They fear the ambiguity of the provision means that without additional support, they won’t have resources to verify the immigration status of everyone they serve – an extra step that could delay crucial help from reaching those in need.
If approved, the updated language would impact at least 86 organizations that receive more than $26 million annually from Manatee County. Of that, $20 million goes to dozens of children’s services nonprofits, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County and Step Up Suncoast. Health and human services includes nonprofits like the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity. The county provides almost $4 million in funding across 39 health and human services programs.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County, pictured here, offers afterschool and summer programs for kids and teens to build academic success and character skills. (600x338, AR: 1.7751479289940828)
The discussion comes amid a broader national crackdown on immigration from President Donald Trump’s administration that has involved the mass arrest and deportation of thousands of undocumented immigrants using tactics that have sparked national outcry and protests.
It also has involved more subtle moves.
In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order “to ensure taxpayer resources are not used to incentivize or support illegal immigration” and ordered federal departments to “take corrective action” on programs that were using federal funds to provide financial benefits for undocumented immigrants.
The Manatee County provision aligns with Trump’s order on a local level. Commissioners haven’t discussed specifics on the provision, and a date for a vote hasn’t been set.
For Step Up Suncoast CEO Amy Yount, verifying every client’s immigration status before helping them is more than just an extra step –– it’s time and money that isn’t easy to get back.
“We would anticipate that that would take lots of additional staff time, which is fine, but that turns into dollars,” said Yount, whose nonprofit helps students achieve academic success and low-income families find economic independence. “When that turns into dollars, then that can make it so that we have less dollars to actually provide the services.”
A routine presentation quickly turned political
At a January meeting of the Manatee County Commission, a routine presentation on nonprofit funding quickly turned political when it morphed into a discussion on immigration.
First, Commissioner Jason Bearden asked how many unauthorized immigrants received free dental care and other services from the nonprofits the county supports.
Then, Commissioner Amanda Ballard echoed the idea that taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be used to provide free services for undocumented immigrants when other groups, such as disabled veterans and low-income households, remain in need.
Next, the board agreed that any money spent to support area nonprofits should not help immigrants without proper documentation. Commissioners provided no evidence that funding was supporting undocumented immigrants.
Neither Ballard nor Bearden responded to multiple phone calls and emails for this story.
Manatee County Commissioners discuss changes to the county’s nonprofit funding requirements at the Jan. 27 meeting (600x334, AR: 1.7964071856287425)
At the same meeting, County Attorney Pamela D’Agostino told commissioners that the county could model language in its nonprofit agreements to mirror a federal law to “avoid legal challenges.” The law states that “illegal aliens” are ineligible for state and local public benefits, which includes some county-funded nonprofits.
The statute doesn’t target nonprofits that provide “in-kind services,” or short-term services like providing a bed in a shelter or a meal at a soup kitchen. It also excludes emergency medical attention, immunization assistance from communicable diseases and short-term disaster relief assistance, as long as the unauthorized immigrant in question doesn’t receive financial help.
“We can easily choose to insert that language into our contracts and not allow this,” Ballard said at the January meeting. “Right now, we’re choosing not to track it…so we have no idea whether our tax dollars are going to people who are in the country illegally to provide them with free services.”
Applications for health and human services nonprofits were set to open on Feb. 6 and close March 13. Now, the deadline has been delayed indefinitely to allow time for the additional language to be inserted in the agreements.
Chairman Tal Siddique, who at the same meeting had agreed to delay funding applications to “see some language in there that evaluates citizenship in future nonprofit agreements,” told reporters he was unavailable to provide a comment this week.
Commissioner George Kruse, who was outspoken against a similar provision during a meeting last September, declined to comment on the latest provision, saying he was unaware of its details.
When the proposal first arose last year, he noted that 86% of the $23.9 million in county funding for nonprofits goes toward children’s services, and that it was “petty” to punish kids for a choice they had no part in.
Numerous nonprofit leaders took the podium in September during public comment to scrutinize the ambiguity of the proposal, highlighting their lack of resources to verify every client’s immigration status and the burden it would place on children.
Commissioners struck down the provision then with a 4-3 vote, and didn’t hint that a similar plan could resurface.
Though children’s services and logistical concerns weren’t mentioned during the January meeting, last year’s discussion could be a preview into what nonprofits can expect.
The sudden pivot has been jarring for many local nonprofit leaders who thought the issue was behind them.
Yount, who’s been with Step Up Suncoast for 23 years and has served as CEO since 2021, added that steps like extra verification could seem “insurmountable” to families in need. If they must provide documents like a birth certificate, it may cause delays for a family already dealing with other stressors.
“I would be sad for the children that might end up in that situation,” Yount said.
Nonprofits navigate an ambiguous future
Dawn Stanhope, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County, is among those worried about the ramifications.
She said she didn’t hear anything from the county before or after their January discussion. Stanhope said their remarks make it hard to prepare for what’s coming.
Dawn Stanhope has been president of the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County since 2021. (600x414, AR: 1.4492753623188406)
“We’re all for complying with whatever the laws and regulations are that we need to follow,” Stanhope said. “However, there was a lot of ambiguity around how we would implement what they were looking for. We don’t feel that we’re subject matter experts and are being equipped to really be able to determine whether or not someone would be eligible for those services.”
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County offers afterschool and summer programs for kids and teens to build academic success and character skills. Stanhope has served as the president of the nonprofit since 2014.
Nonprofit leaders said they feel left in the dark. There was no acknowledgement of the hurdles faced last year and no communication to better understand the needs and capabilities of their organizations –– just a unanimous vote and an indefinite delay on the applications many were ready to or already had submitted.
Yount said it doesn’t have to be this way, as there’s still time for the county and nonprofits “to come up with clear, workable systems that would work for the nonprofits and achieve what the county wants to achieve.”
Funding applications for children’s services nonprofits closed on Jan. 30, and commissioners didn’t indicate if additional language on citizenship could impact those applications.
One nonprofit leader said the timing of these discussions is frustrating from an administrative standpoint. They said nearly 30 children’s services nonprofits have already submitted applications, and further discussions on this provision could delay the approval of essential county funding.
Since it wasn’t specified at the January meeting, Stanhope said she’s unsure if her children’s services nonprofit needs to be prepared to comply with guidelines that could otherwise gut their county funding.
“I don’t feel comfortable signing an affidavit saying, ‘I will make sure that we do not bill back the county for anyone who’s undocumented,’ when I don’t know how to even verify that for a child to begin with,” Stanhope said.
Step Up Suncoast, which received about $2.9 million from Manatee County in fiscal year 2026, supports families across five counties in financial literacy, school readiness and healthy family resources. The Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide early childhood development programs for children up to 5 years old.
The nonprofit already verifies the citizenship status of at least one person in a household for federal funding. But Yount said county provisions could add additional steps.
E-Verify and Social Security are common ways to verify eligibility for certain benefits and employment. However, one nonprofit leader noted that many are in the country legally without a Social Security number, like those who are awaiting asylum hearings.
Other nonprofits expressed concerns over losing volunteers and staff who don’t feel comfortable carrying out that type of work – or are worried one mistake could lead to a lawsuit.
With details scarce, Stanhope said she’s focused on serving the community until a clearer picture is painted.
“A lot of nonprofits are on edge. When you don’t know what to expect, you’re just sort of holding your breath, waiting,” Stanhope said. “But I also know that we work in a world where there’s always uncertainty. I’m going to do the best I can with whatever the circumstances warrant.”
This project is a collaboration between the Bradenton Herald and Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.
This story was originally published by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom delivering investigative journalism to Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.