Florida troopers take lead role in immigration enforcement

Watch Florida troopers take lead role in immigration enforcement - Straight Arrow News on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00The Florida Highway Patrol is the first state agency in the nation where nearly every trooper

00:05is now trained to enforce federal immigration law. It's part of the 287G program created in

00:13the 1996 Immigration Reform Act, which lets state officers work under ICE supervision.

00:19State officials say more than 1,700 of the state's 1,800 troopers are now credentialed as

00:25designated immigration officers. Since March, they've helped lead more than 3,500 detentions.

00:32The program allows troopers to check immigration status during routine traffic stops. The Wall

00:37Street Journal ride-along in Palm Beach County showed how it plays out. Troopers pulled over

00:42vehicles for violations while ICE agents checked federal databases. That day, about two dozen

00:48people were detained and two briefly escaped before one was later caught. Supporters call it a whole

00:54of government tool that removes immigrants with criminal records. But critics, including the

00:59ACLU, warn it could open the door to racial profiling and civil rights abuses. Advocacy groups are reminding

01:07immigrants of their rights, including the right to remain silent and to refuse entry to officers

01:12without a judge's warrant. Florida has poured nearly $300 billion into immigration enforcement,

01:19even opened a detention center in the Everglades. Though a federal judge has ordered parts of that

01:24facility dismantled, state leaders say they're pressing ahead and hope the model spreads to other

01:30states. For more unbiased updates, download the Straight Arrow News app or go to san.com.