Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration has laid out a detailed plan focusing on how Florida could enhance its capacity to carry out deportations. This Florida Immigration Enforcement Operations Plan, which was made available to Blaze News, sheds light on the current actions taken at the state level, highlights the challenges faced, and suggests potential solutions that would require federal government approval.
The proposal advocates for a unified approach from Florida that addresses the entire process of identifying illegal immigrants and executing deportations. According to the report, this strategy could help ease various delays currently impacting the detention and removal phases—not just in Florida, but potentially elsewhere too.
One significant hurdle noted is the insufficient detention space needed to process a large volume of deportations. The FIEO report mentions several structures in northeastern and south-central Florida that could be repurposed as detention facilities. Given the state’s effective emergency management response to disasters, it plans to set up centers capable of holding up to 10,000 undocumented individuals.
The report states, “Without federal support, it’s possible that long-term immigration support efforts may not be financially sustainable.” However, the complexities arise from detention centers needing to comply with national standards set by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which many county jails struggle to meet due to their restrictions.
To address this issue, the report urges the Department of Homeland Security to temporarily suspend these national standards while ensuring detainees’ basic needs are met. Additionally, the Florida Emergency Management Department has proposed to assist undocumented immigrants wishing to take their oath by helping them book commercial flights, but only for those without criminal records. Self-deportation is labeled as the most costly option.
FDEM also intends to manage state-operated deportation flights, although ICE must explicitly request support and reimburse the state for the actual expenses incurred.
In a surprising twist, DeSantis announced that he is using a group of judge-backed National Guard members to function as immigration judges, with training provided by the Department of Justice rather than the Department of Homeland Security.
The FIEO report cautions that the federal government has been reluctant to promise reimbursement for immigration operations, and without federal assistance, sustaining long-term immigration operations could become increasingly difficult.
