HOMESTEAD, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced a new agreement between the Florida Highway Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security to allow troopers to take part in the illegal immigration crackdown.
The governor made the announcement in Tallahassee on Friday. He said this latest effort aims to aid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.
“We have to fulfill the president’s mission to effectuate the largest deportation program in American history,” said DeSantis.
Under the new plan, FHP troopers will be able to perform immigration enforcement duties such as detaining suspected illegal immigrants, carrying out arrest warrants for illegal immigrants, and the ability to process and interview them.
These new expanded powers are duties that were mostly done previously by federal agents at the DHS.
“FHP state law enforcement officers will be empowered to arrest and detain aliens attempting to unlawfully enter the United States, such as through ports of entry or via waters off Florida’s coastline, which is, of course, where we see a lot of the direct involvement with illegals,” said DeSantis.
The governor said troopers will be trained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The controversial move does have some opposition. Immigration organizations said this crackdown is causing Homestead’s bustling migrant community to lay low and avoid local businesses.
“We’re becoming a persecutory, police state-oriented place, and it really is a shame, and I think it goes against the historical culture that makes us the state that we are,” said Thomas Kennedy with the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
“We’re supposed to have a lot of trust in our police. If you have something going on, a crime, you call the police. Nobody is going to call the police now, and they are going to be scared to drive on the roads and go to work,” said DJ Baserock.
The announcement comes amid the U.S. Supreme Court ruling several times that immigration enforcement is the federal government’s responsibility.
Friday evening, 7News cameras captured a small group of demonstrators outside Homestead City Hall protesting the announcement.
“They took a lot of migrants and they left their babies here because they were born in the United States, and I don’t think that’s right,” said Josefa Bocanegra.
“People are losing their business. People are very afraid of what could happen to them. In the meantime, we have a lot of criminals on the loose, criminals that are real criminals,” said Melba.
Some demonstrators had signs that said migrants are the engine that keeps the United States going and fed.
“They want to act like this is their land, like they didn’t steal it, and we’re not allowed to be here when they were immigrants just like we were one day,” said Pamela Luna.
“I’m telling you nobody’s going to go out there in the fields. They go to work early in the morning, they come back late at night,” said Bocanegra. “They never say no, and all those houses, all those buildings they’ve been making, only the Mexican.”
Despite the anger at the new crackdown, the protesters were united in their passion for the issue and shared a moment of happiness.
“We’re standing strong, and we’re not afraid of whatever [the governor] wants to throw at us,” said Luna.
Officials with FHP’s union worry the agency is too underfunded to carry out these additional duties.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.