With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Ron DeSantis continued his crusade supporting immigration reform in Florida.
With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Ron DeSantis continued his crusade supporting immigration reform in Florida.
The governor on Wednesday signed new agreements that will expand power for local and state law enforcement to enforce immigration laws.
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WATCH HERE“Our state law enforcement officers will now be able to fully cooperate with U.S. Homeland Security authorities via this 287(g) program," DeSantis said.
What the governor signed revives a section of the Immigration and Nationality act, which gives state and local law enforcement more power on immigration enforcement.
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“If they’re found to be in violation of proper immigration status, we will make sure that they are held accountable,” DeSantis said.
The State Board of Immigration Enforcement, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Agriculture and the Florida State Guard will now have more authority to stop immigrants who are not authorized to be in the country.
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“We have the ability to receive delegation for our state and local law enforcement officers to perform specified immigration officer functions under the agency’s direction and oversight,” DeSantis said.
These are similar to the agreements that Florida Highway Patrol has already entered into with ICE.
DeSantis said ICE will train these agencies and the funds to pay for these new duties will be coming from grants.
