Trump's ICE crackdown could get boost in Florida with DeSantis' plan to deputize state patrol

Gov. Ron DeSantis past week signed an statement that could soon deputize Florida Highway Patrol officers to execute the functions of federal migration officers, and the caput of a national representing the bulk of troopers has concerns astir the decision. 

DeSantis held a bid of discussions with instrumentality enforcement officials and Floridians affected by amerciable migration Jan. 29 astir caller authorities needed successful the authorities to assistance the Trump medication successful countering amerciable immigration, the governor's bureau said successful a statement.

He signed a memorandum betwixt the Florida Highway Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), giving troopers the authorization to workout migration power.

"Governor DeSantis understands the relation of instrumentality enforcement and wants to supply the strongest migration instrumentality possible, empowering instrumentality enforcement to get to enactment and deport amerciable aliens residing successful the state," Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner said successful a statement with DeSantis' announcement.

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A Florida Highway Patrol vehicle (Sam Navarro/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

"Troopers are going to bash what they're told to do. … We're going to go the extremity of the spear," William Smith, president of the Florida Highway Patrol section of Florida’s Police Benevolent Association, told Fox News Digital. "But it would beryllium bully to cognize that … we person further funding."

The latest memorandum comes arsenic DeSantis besides criticized a caller migration betterment measure passed by the Florida Legislature.

"The measure the Florida Legislature passed … fails to grant our promises to voters, fails to conscionable the infinitesimal and would really weaken authorities migration enforcement," the politician said astatine a press conference.

"We indispensable person the strongest instrumentality successful the federation connected migration enforcement that volition warrant authorities and section deportation assistance, extremity drawback and release, destruct magnets specified arsenic remittances and follow supporting policies that volition support Floridians."

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DeSantis wants to mandate that counties and cities enactment successful the national deportation programme and pushed for the authorization to suspend officials who bash not comply. He besides wanted to marque it a authorities transgression to participate the U.S. illegally and necessitate that radical amusement recognition and their migration presumption earlier sending wealth backmost home.

The legislature’s migration priorities person included a mandatory decease punishment for an amerciable migrant convicted of a superior offense, enhancing sentences for amerciable migrant pack members, expanding shared quality among instrumentality enforcement agencies, strengthening enforcement of nationalist officials’ compliance with authorities instrumentality banning sanctuary jurisdictions and fiscal incentives for grooming instrumentality enforcement officers who assistance ICE task forces.

Fox News Digital reached retired to ICE and DeSantis' bureau for comment.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks astatine the 2023 Christians United for Israel acme July 17, 2023, successful Arlington, Va.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

"What's going connected with the Legislature and the politician close present … we're astir caught successful the middle," Smith said. "There's nary further backing to wage for those further duties. … You know, it's casual to motion a portion of insubstantial and say, 'we're going to person troopers bash that now.' OK, well, are you going to wage maine much money?"

Smith, who has served arsenic a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol for 41 years, stands by a request for migration reform, but helium believes the bureau has already been underfunded for years and does not person capable wealth to operate. 

"Our interest moving guardant is we request to summation our pay. … The troopers and the folks that bash the occupation each time … they request to cognize that they tin inactive enactment nutrient connected the array and beryllium capable to bargain a location and rise immoderate kids and things of that nature," helium said. "Because, close now, a trooper astatine starting wage is simply a imperishable flat dweller."

In the upcoming 2025-2026 budget, Smith said, the section is asking the Legislature for $12.9 cardinal to rise wage and prosecute much troopers, whose starting wage is astir $54,000. He explained that for the bureau to beryllium afloat funded, it volition request astir $27 million. 

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Migrants locomotion into Mexico aft being deported from the U.S. astatine El Chaparral pedestrian borderline span successful Tijuana, Mexico, Jan. 21, 2025. (Felix Marquez/AP)

After DeSantis signed the memorandum, Smith disclosed that helium was near with "more questions than answers."

"There hasn't been immoderate guidance … from the governor's bureau astir what our relation volition be, what the grooming volition be," helium said. "How galore troopers does helium privation to delegate to this?"

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Smith said determination are astir 150 trooper vacancies connected the road patrol close present and that the politician wants to chopped 25 trooper positions.

"It's similar taking a measurement guardant and 2 steps back," Smith added. 

Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.