EXCLUSIVE — Florida state troopers have arrested 6,200 illegal immigrants off the streets and turned them over to federal immigration authorities for deportation proceedings, the Washington Examiner has learned.
Florida Highway Patrol officers have arrested thousands across the state since Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) directed state and local police to assist Department of Homeland Security agencies, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles spokesman Gatlin Nennstiel told the Washington Examiner in an email on Friday.
The figure puts the state at the forefront of red state efforts to help the Trump administration carry out its nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration.
“The state of Florida is leading. We’re showing what can be done when you work collaboratively with the federal government on an issue that’s very, very important to so many people,” DeSantis said in a video message posted to X Thursday.
The governor’s statement followed an announcement from ICE of the arrests of 150 illegal immigrants in Florida who are known sex offenders.
Operation Criminal Return has successfully removed 230 criminal aliens — many of whom were sexual predators — off the streets.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 13, 2025
The joint operation between FDLE and ICE demonstrates the positive results of our state-federal collaboration on interior enforcement efforts. pic.twitter.com/vI8JuWCcVa
As President Donald Trump has sought to carry out the “largest-ever” deportation operation in national history, his administration has turned to states to help federal police arrest illegal immigrants across the country.
Florida has been the most cooperative state, and the state is seeing significant results from its efforts, as evidenced by the 6,200 arrests.
In February, DeSantis signed into law legislation that allowed law enforcement in all 67 counties and state police to work directly with federal immigration agencies.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to include Section 287(g), which gave ICE the authority to delegate specific immigration officer duties to state and local police. Counties and states could opt in, but immigrants’ rights organizations strongly oppose it on the basis that it is the federal government’s responsibility.
Historically, state police who pulled over a vehicle with drivers and passengers believed to be illegally in the country would have contacted Border Patrol or ICE to let them know about the traffic stop and see how to proceed, the Washington Examiner learned during a ride-along with FHP Sgt. Tony Kingery in July.
“In the past, we never dealt with it. If we stopped somebody and we had a carload of illegals, we would just make a phone call to Border Patrol, and because of their hand-tied policy back in the day, they would just ask us to provide them with their names and an address, and they would check up on them later,” Kingery said. “We never really did anything enforcement-wise.”
Now, deputized state troopers have greater authority if a person states that he or she is not a U.S. citizen or lacks documentation. The officer may contact local federal authorities, either ICE or Border Patrol, to run the person’s identification. In some cases, immigrants encountered do not have any proof of identification or have fake documents.
The state trooper will bring the person to a regional federal facility where a more thorough examination can be done, including fingerprinting and document verification.
Not all support Florida’s efforts, including Michelle Suskauer, a criminal defense lawyer and former president of the Florida Bar.
“Ultimately, immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility,” Suskauer wrote in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Deputizing local and state law enforcement for this role risks eroding public trust, particularly in immigrant communities who may grow fearful of engaging with police even when they are
“In Florida, we have an enforceable duty to help and to be a part of the solution. And this task force model means we’re not just going to say, ‘OK, you know, if you’re here illegally, unless you end up in jail, we’re not going to do anything,” said DeSantis. “There will be operations on the street. That’s how we’re getting these illegals.”
HOW FLORIDA IS HELPING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ROUND UP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
To date, the DHS has removed more than 500,000 illegal immigrants since Trump took office.
The Trump administration set the first-year goal for 1 million, but has touted that roughly 1.5 million non-U.S. citizens have self-deported or voluntarily left the country since January.
