Immigration enforcement costs state $573M

Feds have yet to send promised reimbursement

Ana Goñi-Lessan

USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

Florida has spent more than $573 million on immigration enforcement but has yet to be reimbursed by the federal government, according to a recent state report.

The Florida Department of Emergency Management’s Annual SB 180 Report details the feds’ approval of approximately $608 million in funds for Florida, but the state has not received them.

And the state only expects the feds to reimburse about half of the $573 million, the report says.

The report, which was due Jan. 15, was not released to legislators until Jan. 31.

In October 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the state was awarded reimbursement funds, and state officials mocked critics who questioned whether the federal government would actually come through.

“Another bogus narrative bites the dust. I said all along that we would be reimbursed,” Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on X.

But the money never came. Questions to FDEM about when the state will receive federal funds for reimbursement are pending.

How is the state paying for immigration enforcement?

The money the state has spent on immigration enforcement comes out of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund (EPRF), which was established in 2022 to allow the governor to quickly access funds in an emergency without spending money from the general revenue fund.

Gov. Ron DeSantis first issued an emergency declaration on immigration in early January 2023, which has

allowed the state to use money placed in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund to establish Alligator Alcatraz, send Florida law enforcement to the Texas border with Mexico and fly migrants from the border to Democratic-led cities. Since then, the legislature has put $4.77 billion into the EPRF. Currently, the EPRF has $209 million, according to the Senate Majority Office.

The Legislature must recreate the EPRF every four years, according to the law. This year, SPB 7040 would extend the termination date to Dec. 31, 2027.

But some senators are questioning the purpose of the fund, which they thought was only supposed to be used on “actual emergencies, like hurricanes.”

“I never could have imagined that the governor would waste over half a billion dollars on a never-ending political ‘emergency,’” said Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman of Boynton Beach.

She said she would be voting no on the bill to reauthorize the fund.

What is Florida spending money on?

Less than a month after Alligator Alcatraz, one of two state-run immigration detention centers, opened its doors to detainees, state contracts showed the facility cost more than $250 million to set up and was expected to cost $450 million per year.

And Deportation Depot, located in Sanderson and housed at Baker Correctional Institution since its opening in September 2025, has cost at least $101 million, according to state contracts.

The state calls its immigration enforcement program the Operation Vigilant Sentry (OVS) mission. In the report, OVS comes in fourth in money spent, after Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene.

According to the report, FDEM spent funds to support Operation Tidal Wave, which the report describes as “a multiagency operation that involves sustained coordination among federal, state, and local partners.”

In 2025, more than 10,000 people were detained in Operation Tidal Wave, which debuted in April of that year. In total, 20,000 people living in Florida were detained and transferred to federal immigration custody in 2025.

Of the $573 million FDEM spent, approximately $29 million was purchased on equipment, including trailers, computers, helicopter engines, vans and radios.

Besides FDEM, the equipment went to other state and local law enforcement agencies like the Florida State Guard, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Florida Department of Corrections and the Collier County Sheriff ’s Office.

The report also says FDEM ran the state’s voluntary departure program and facilitated over 1,100 voluntary deportations to 20 different countries in 2025.

The “Voluntary Departure,” program offers immigrants in custody, who have no prior felony convictions, the opportunity to return to their home countries on direct airline flights.

What’s next for Florida’s immigration enforcement?

The state plans to open another state-run immigration detention facility in Northwest Florida, dubbed “Panhandle Pokey.” At a press conference in January, DeSantis said the facility would open “relatively soon,” depending on federal approval.

The state is also looking at opening another facility in South Florida as well, DeSantis said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is currently looking to expand detention space and touring warehouses across the country, including in Florida, to create more detention centers.

News of ICE touring warehouses in Orlando and Bradford County are spurring pushback from immigrant advocates and local leaders who say expanding detention capacity is “dangerous.”

“Orlando does not need an ICE detention facility. We need policies that keep families together, respect due process, and protect the economic and social fabric that makes our region thrive,” said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, in a statement.

Ana Goñi-Lessan, government impact reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@ usatodayco.com.