Florida’s chief financial officer, Blaise Ingoglia, visited St. Johns County on Tuesday to award law enforcement agencies with funds from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

The money came as part of reimbursements for participating in ICE’s 287g program. 

All participating law enforcement agencies will receive reimbursements, but Ingoglia hand-delivered ceremonial checks to sheriffs from St. Johns, Bradford, Clay and Putnam counties, as well as Jacksonville.

Under the 287g program, ICE deputizes cooperating law enforcement agencies to perform some immigration enforcement duties, including detaining individuals who are not legally in the United States. In exchange, ICE covers the costs of vehicles and other equipment purchased to facilitate the agreement, as well as salaries, benefits and overtime pay for officers who are trained to perform immigration enforcement.

In Northeast Florida: 

  • The Bradford County Sheriff’s Office received $25,683.
  • The Clay County Sheriff’s Office received $606,151.13.
  • The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office received $94,000.
  • Putnam County received $108,384.
  • The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office received $1 million.

Ingoglia said the amounts are based on how many officers or deputies have received ICE training and how much the agency has spent.

Other law enforcement agencies in the state, including the University of North Florida’s police force and every county sheriff’s office, have also signed agreements with ICE.

Working closely with ICE

Not every agency present Wednesday afternoon shared information about how many individuals have been arrested and deported in cooperation with ICE, but Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters confirmed that deputies there have arrested 545 people. St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said his deputies have arrested 710 people.

Nationally, law enforcement agencies, have come under scrutiny for arresting individuals on the grounds of being in the state illegally under a law that a federal judge said should not be enforced.  

The Marshall Project, for example, reported that a 49-year-old undocumented immigrant was improperly arrested in May in St. Johns County and deported to Mexico.

But each of the sheriffs present commended Ingoglia, Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump for providing law enforcement agencies with the tools to crack down on people who have unlawfully entered the U.S. 

Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook said the strong support for law enforcement from the president down was imperative for the work she and her deputies do.

“The icing on the cake for Florida,” she said, “is that our great free state has state leadership that actively supports local officials, including and most importantly, your sheriffs, as we continue to keep our communities safe.”

Ingoglia closed the event by saying that Florida’s cooperation with ICE sets a standard that he wants to see the rest of the country follow. 

“For the deputies and the trainees that are in the room, thank you,” Ingoglia said. “You guys are going to make a difference. Your children and your grandchildren, I truly believe, are going to look upon this time and say that when it came to illegal immigration, boy, did the state of Florida step up.”