MIRAMAR, Fla. (AP) — A record 1,120 people accused of being in the U.S. illegally were arrested in less than a week during sweep orchestrated by federal, state and local authorities in
Florida, an operation officials credited on Thursday to the burgeoning numbe
r of local police departments and state agencies that have joined President Donald Trump’s drive for mass deportations.
That cooperation was on display Thursday when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joi
ned officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to tout the arrests.
“We will continue to engage in broad interior enforcement effor
ts,” said DeSantis at a joint press conference with federal officials. “This is just the beginning.”
Local police can make immigration arrests and detain people for immigration violations under specific agreements. U.S. Imm
igration and Customs Enforcement had 135 agreements across 2
1 states in December. That number has since jumped to 517 deals across 39 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 presi
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dent 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. C
onstitution 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 Sanctu
ary 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.