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3mo ago

Florida Launches Aggressive Immigration Enforcement Initiative

Governor DeSantis appoints Larry Keefe to lead the newly established State Board of Immigration Enforcement as part of Florida’s sweeping immigration reforms.

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference in Miami, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
Migrants, who arrived on a flight sent by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, gather with their belongings outside St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard. The DeSantis administration contracted with Vertol Systems Company, Inc. to transport two planeloads of migrants on Sept. 14, 2022, from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha's Vineyard, with a stop in the Northwest Florida community of Crestview. (Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via AP, File)
FILE - Women, who are in the U.S. illegally, and their children listen as Nora Sandigo explains their legal rights, as well as options to prepare their families in case a parent were to be detained or deported, in Homestead, Fla., Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
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Overview

  • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed new legislation creating the State Board of Immigration Enforcement to enhance state and local collaboration with federal immigration authorities.
  • Larry Keefe, a former U.S. attorney and organizer of the 2022 migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard, has been appointed as the board's executive director.
  • The legislation introduces stricter penalties for crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, including mandatory capital punishment for certain offenses, raising legal and ethical concerns.
  • The state allocated $298 million to support immigration enforcement, including funding for detention facilities and local law enforcement training under the federal 287(g) program.
  • A newly formed advisory council, comprising four sheriffs and four police chiefs, will guide the board on strategies to combat illegal immigration and improve information sharing.