MIAMI — The roster of local police departments and state agencies that have joined President Donald Trump’s drive for mass deportations has soared to more than 500, with nearly half from Florida.
That cooperation will be on display Thursday when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joins officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to tout an operation that authorities say netted about 800 immigration arrests in less than a week.
Local police can make immigration arrests and detain people for immigration violations under specific agreements. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had 135 agreements across 21 states in December. That number has jumped to 506 deals across 38 states, with an additional 74 agencies pending approval.
As the Trump administration ramps up cooperation with state and local agencies, it is moving to retaliate against those that limit helping immigration authorities. On Monday, the president signed an executive order to publish a list of “sanctuary” jurisdictions and reiterated threats of criminal charges against state or local officials who thwart federal policy.
Advocates who oppose local officials getting into immigration enforcement say the practice violates a clause in the U.S. Constitution that makes federal, not state, authorities responsible for it.
“This is finding methods to terrorize communities,” said Katie Blankenship, an immigration attorney and co-founder of Sanctuary of the South, adding that local law enforcement officers aren’t trained to handle immigration issues “in any sort of just manner.”
Trumps deportation goals may be too big for ICE alone
ICE, which has about 6,000 deportation officers, needs help achieving Trump’s goal of deporting many of the roughly 11 million people in the country illegally, a conservative estimate.
Texas, whose Republican governor, Greg Abbott, has closely allied himself with Trump on immigration, has 76 enforcement agreements on record, the second-largest number of any state. They include one inked April 10 with the state National Guard. Texas has also signed an agreement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for its National Guard to arrest people at the border.
Georgia and North Carolina have also joined Trump’s cause, but no state approaches Florida’s cooperation, with agencies from all 67 counties signing on. Some participating institutions appear to have little, if anything, to do with immigration enforcement, including the Florida Department of Lottery Services and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
No such agreements were signed during the Biden administration. Many of the new pacts adhere to a “task force model” under which police arrest immigrants on the streets and in communities, as opposed to a “jail enforcement model” under which ICE takes custody of people only when they are put in state and local jails or prisons.
Florida officials say many local agencies are still waiting for federal training. However, the latest ICE arrests, part of what the agency calls “Operation Tidal Wave,” show how state and local roles may grow.
