The Florida Highway Patrol can now conduct immigration enforcement operations independent of the federal government, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"What we have now with FHP is that they can conduct immigration operations wholly independent of the federal government. And there's no one else in the country where they're doing that," the Republican governor, flanked by FHP officers and federal agents, said during a news conference Monday in Tampa, Newsweek reported.
More than 100 FHP troopers were sworn in as special deputy U.S. marshals, which gives them the authority to handle immigration cases. That includes apprehending immigrants and processing them for deportation without the use of federal assistance, and also allows the troopers to serve and execute federal warrants.
In the past, FHP troopers, when stopping an undocumented driver who had a criminal record, had to either contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers or wait and release the driver.
The FHP program comes as Florida has marked high levels of cooperation between federal and state agencies, while the Trump administration pushes for mass deportations.
The new trooper program is part of the government's 287(g) program, which allows state and local law enforcement agencies to work with ICE to catch and deport undocumented people.
Sheriffs from all 67 of Florida's counties, the FHP, and several other agencies signed the 287(g) agreements in a partnership that has played a role in Operation Tidal Wave, a state crackdown that led to more than 1,100 arrests.
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Director Dave Kerner said at Monday's press conference that the FHP troopers are the first fully credentialed officers under the task force model.
"What that means is, if you see a state trooper, he or she has federal authorities to detain, investigate, apprehend, and deport," said Kerner. "We have troopers in all 67 counties of this great state that have that authority."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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