Florida agencies want millions more for immigration enforcement next year

Katelyn Ferral, Tampa Bay Times on Nov 27, 2025

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It’s been nearly a year since President Donald Trump kicked off his nationwide immigration enforcement mission, with Florida quickly becoming a top partner.

The state has spent millions of dollars mobilizing Florida agencies and resources on the effort, leading the country in the number of law enforcement agencies working with the federal government to find and deport immigrants living in the country illegally.

Now state agencies want the Legislature to OK giving them millions of additional dollars to pay for technology, equipment and personnel as they continue ramping up their immigration enforcement efforts.

The requests offer a glimpse at how the state plans to approach immigration in the new year. They coincide with an acceleration of Trump’s efforts as he deploys more U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams nationwide.

So far, federal officials have deported nearly 600,000 people, according to the Department of Homeland Security, still far short of Trump’s goal of deporting as many as 1 million a year.

Florida law enforcement officers have made 6,300 immigration arrests since Aug. 1, according to the state Board of Immigration Enforcement.

Here is a snapshot of some of the immigration-related budget requests that state agencies have submitted. The legislative session begins Jan. 13.

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

The agency is requesting $2,150,000 to update and improve its communications equipment and systems to better coordinate and collaborate with other state and federal agencies. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says the updates are essential for its immigration task force, its highway interdiction stations and working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Forest Service.

Department of Corrections

The department has asked for $387,000 to install 18 additional license plate readers, saying they aid correctional staff in finding individuals with active warrants. While the agency’s request does not specify that the readers are for immigration enforcement, the agency’s prison guards were deputized as federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers under a pilot program in 2019.

Last year, the agency asked state lawmakers for $250,000 to add license plate readers at 17 sites, adding to the 16 it already had, arguing the readers were needed for intelligence gathering and investigations.

Department of Financial Services

The agency — which manages the state’s finances, licenses and regulates insurance companies and investigates fraud, along with consumer protection work — is asking for more than $184,000 for its investigations division, in part to hire two more crime intelligence analysts. The agency says the money would help it be more proactive in combating transnational crime, financial crimes and expanding its “assistance with immigration enforcement.”

Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is requesting nearly $11.6 million to implement a career development plan to better promote and retain Florida Highway Patrol officers, with the overall goal to further “uphold immigration law to protect our borders and communities, and remove illegal aliens from the state,” according to the agency’s request.

It has also asked for nearly $5.9 million to expand its Tactical Aviation Unit, which conducts aerial law enforcement missions and has been used in immigration efforts.

Immigration enforcement is increasingly a part of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ job and its “existing framework no longer meets the operational complexity or strategic demands placed on the unit,” according to the agency. “Aviation resources are increasingly used to support efforts tied to human trafficking, illegal immigration.”

Department of Law Enforcement

The agency is asking for about $900,000 for nine more full-time positions to investigate cases related to organized crime and immigration enforcement that can be shared with other law enforcement agencies.

According to the agency, the money is needed because “many illegal immigrants have embedded themselves in Florida and engaged in criminal acts, including human and drug trafficking ... The new illegal immigration enforcement mission has resulted in a significant workload increase for the department’s Office of Statewide Intelligence.”

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