KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis and the State Board of Immigration Enforcement are allocating millions of dollars to law enforcement agencies for immigration enforcement as part of the Local Law Enforcement Immigration Grant Program, and of the $250 million available through the program, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is one of the top recipients in the state.

What You Need To Know

The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is being awarded $9,395,541 in immigration enforcement funds

The State Board of Immigration Enforcement is awarding $250 million to law enforcement agencies and applicants for the grant program

Osceola County Sheriff Christopher Blackmon said a large portion of the money will be used towards purchasing equipment and bonuses for 287(g) certified deputies

Osceola County Corrections is also receiving immigration enforcement funds in the amount of $223,878

The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is being awarded $9,395,541.

Sheriff Christopher Blackmon said a large portion of the money will be directed towards general areas of need to serve the county.

“We applied for that to take the relief off our taxpayers, but it’s stuff we need. We need now because we’re phasing in radios over time, and we can do this in one swoop with this immigration money,” Blackmon said. “With the grant money, it’s going to help us get all of our deputies up to speed on the same camera system and on the same radio system. So, it’s a major win for the sheriff’s office and the taxpayers.”

From the $9.3 million award:

$4.03 million will be used to purchase 300 new APX Next Addition radios to better assist law enforcement, especially in areas with little to no broadband
$2.81 million for 500 body worn cameras
$536,500 for Peregrine software to help store criminal information on the law enforcement database
$850,000 on 500 bulletproof vests, and $661,650 on ballistic panels for 401 patrol cars

The funding also allows the sheriff’s office to give $1,000 bonuses to 500 deputies who are 287(g) certified, which means they’ve been trained to enforce certain immigration law in partnership with ICE.

“Our day-to-day operations are not changing. It’s going to stay the same. This just helps us financially get across a huge hurdle,” Blackmon said. “We’ve done a couple of details with ICE early on, but what we do is every single day, when we go to a call for service, we’re not out going to construction sites or places and doing raids or anything like that. We’re doing it through our normal course of action. So, if we have a traffic stop and the person is illegal, we would identify them and they would be held for a detainer for deportation through ICE.”

Blackmon said because the sheriff’s office is receiving $9.3 million to use towards the body cameras, new radios and other purchases, he said there is more room in the budget to hire more staff members down the line.

“So now what I’m going to do with that money is hire more deputies, which is what we need. So, we’re going to add more people to our ICAC, which is Internet Crimes Against Children section, which is where we got the sting from two weeks ago on the detail, where we arrested the 16,” Blackmon said, referencing several recent arrests.

Not everyone throughout the community wants to see state funding directed towards immigration enforcement.

“I don’t doubt that they can find good ways to use that funding. I just think that the priorities are wrong,” Sarah Robinson said. “We need to do something, yes, but this is not it. We need to find paths, meaningful paths that work for people to have legal status.”

Robinson is the founder of the Faith Leader Network with Immigrants Are Welcome Here Coalition. She is also the pastor of the Audubon Park Covenant Church and vice president of the board of the Hope Community Center.

Robinson said she would rather see the $250 million from the statewide program be used for other areas of need in the community, such as more affordable housing, insurance and education opportunities rather than immigration enforcement.

“I understand the idea behind it is to make sure that criminals are gone, and of course, everybody wants that. But, in fact, the system of immigration is so complex, and it seems like especially to fund everyday police officers to do this incredibly complex immigration work is asking them more than we should,” Robinson said.

Osceola County Corrections is also receiving immigration enforcement money in the amount of $223,878. This funding is separate from the Sheriff’s Office’s award of $9.3 million.

A spokesperson from Osceola County Corrections shared that around $8,000 of the funding will be used to train 15 additional corrections officers to become certified Warrant Service Officers. This also leaves room for nearly $25,000 in bonus payments for certified Warrant Service Officers.

Their funding allocation will allow them to purchase additional mattresses for inmates on immigration holds, up to $8,425. They are also purchasing $182,500 for body scanners.