New data shows Florida was a top destination for illegal immigrants who came to the United States during Joe Biden’s presidency, highlighting the need for additional resources and detention facilities to support Florida’s immigration enforcement efforts.
According to internal government data obtained by The Associated Press, Florida saw the most significant uptick in new migrant arrivals during Biden’s term, particularly in Miami.
Florida had 1,271 migrants who arrived from May 2023 to January 2025 for every 100,000 residents, followed by New York, California, Texas, and Illinois.
Despite drawing ire from immigration activists, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has led the charge among states to work with federal officials on immigration enforcement through the 287(g) Program.
Last week, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the arrest of 400 illegal aliens, including pedophiles, domestic abusers, drug users and drunk drivers, during a multiagency immigration sweep in central Florida.
“Great work!” DeSantis wrote on X, sharing news of ICE’s successful five-day operation.
Great work! https://t.co/IHv4vXGkam
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 30, 2025
In another post, DeSantis reshared a video by ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan on the 287(g) Program and unique partnership in Florida.
We are the only state that requires state and local law enforcement assistance with DHS.
The result: the most 287(g) agreements in the nation (by a country mile). https://t.co/EW4W9t12PY
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) October 1, 2025
DeSantis noted: “We are the only state that requires state and local law enforcement assistance with DHS. The result: the most 287(g) agreements in the nation (by a country mile).”
And the state’s flooding money to the effort thanks to federal funding that will support law enforcement partnerships with ICE. DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet recently approved the first $14 million of a $250 million state grant to fund immigration enforcement, Florida Phoenix reported.
Lawmakers also created the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, which includes DeSantis and the three Cabinet members, during a special legislative session in February.
That special session mandated that all counties and county sheriffs sign on for the 287(g) Program, which allows lower-levels law enforcement to have limited immigration authority. Depending on the model, those duties include arresting, detaining, serving warrants and processing removable aliens with pending or active criminal charges.
The applications from 56 agencies throughout the state totaled more than $14 million, ranging from Gulf County’s $10,882.50 request to $1.07 million sought by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the News Service of Florida reported.
The initial grants will go to bonuses, detention beds, bullet-proof vests, AI-assisted translation software, and license-plate scanners, NSF and CBS News reported.
The appropriations came days after ICE awarded more than $38 million to the state for 287(g) Program law enforcement partners that work with ICE. That money will be used to federally reimburse officers for equipment and transportation costs associated with immigration enforcement, Florida Phoenix reported.
Florida also has invested its own resources into expanding immigrant detention facilities as part of the Trump administration’s larger mass deportation effort.
DeSantis’ administration sought federal money to cover the costs of Alligator Alcatraz, but rushed to open it in July before being reimbursed, and opened Deportation Depot at the Baker Correctional Institution in Baker County.
Florida’s emergency management agency applied for roughly $600 million through the Detention Support Grant Program housed under FEMA to expand beds while immigrants are processed for deportation, Florida Phoenix reported.
In early October, the feds awarded $608 million to Florida for the state’s immigrant-detention efforts, CBS News reported.
Florida’s embattled Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in the Florida Everglades has been hit with multiple lawsuits. Activists keep pushing to get Alligator Alcatraz shut down, including mounting an environmental lawsuit that’s tied up in a legal battle.
The lawsuit could take a turn with the federal funding, since DeSantis and federal officials argued that an environmental-impact study was not necessary. The state’s Attorney General and federal officials argued the state opened the detention center on state land and it had not received federal money.
Alligator Alcatraz is being operated by the state and its contractors. The facility is adjacent to a decades-old airstrip known as the Collier-Dade Training and Transition Center, which is surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve.
But Elise Bennett, a lawyer who is the Florida and Caribbean director at the Center for Biological Diversity, called the state’s receipt of the federal money “the smoking gun proving that our lawsuit challenging Alligator Alcatraz is entirely correct,” CBS News reported.
Meanwhile, DeSantis doesn’t seem deterred in his efforts to support the Trump administration’s broader effort to deport illegal immigrants and restore public safety in communities.
Federal, state and local partners coordinated on the ICE enforcement effort Sept. 22-26 in central Florida. The 400 illegal aliens arrested had various criminal offenses, including driving under the influence, narcotics possession, assault, battery, molestation, domestic violence, prostitution and more, ICE said in a news release.
The operation involved several agencies, led by ICE Miami in partnership with the Florida Highway Patrol, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Florida National Guard, and other partners.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also praised the collaboration, highlighting that Florida leads the nation for 287(g) partnerships with 327 agreements in place — a 577% increase since Jan. 20.
“This was another successful operation to arrest the worst of the worst with our Florida state and local partners and can serve as a blueprint nationwide,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “We are calling on more state and local law enforcement across the U.S. to join us in the fight to remove the worst of the worst from American communities.”
ICE Miami is committed to enforcing immigration laws in a fair and effective manner, the agency said, while focusing on the removal of the “worst of the worst” offenders.
ICE worked closely with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, and FHP Director Dave Kerner, among other agency leaders, to carry out the operation.
“This weeklong joint 287(g) operation focused on targeting those threats to public safety,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Miami Field Office Director Garrett Ripa. “This successful operation is a testament to the 287(g) program the great partnerships we have here in the state of Florida. Together, we are making Florida safe!”
According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Miami metro area saw the largest surge in the U.S. under Biden with 2,191 new migrants for every 100,000 residents. Orlando ranked 10th with 1,499 new migrants for every 100,000 residents. Tampa ranked 17th and Fort Myers was 30th.
CBP must verify addresses of everyone who is allowed to enter the U.S. and stay to pursue an immigration case. The CBP data captured the stated U.S. destinations for 2.5 million migrants who crossed the border, including those who used the now-defunct CBP One app to make an appointment for entry, the AP reported.
The data covered the period when the Biden administration ended COVID-19 restrictions on asylum to when President Donald Trump began his second term and declared a national emergency at the border.
