🚨 200 people arrested in a four-day immigration crackdown across eight Panhandle counties.
🏢 DeSantis announced new detention facilities while dismissing a federal judge’s order to wind down “Alligator Alcatraz.”
⚖️ Florida’s immigration strategy faces ongoing constitutional challenges, but state officials pledge full-time enforcement.
PANAMA CITY — Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested 200 people in the Panhandle this week for federal immigration violations, part of what Gov. Ron DeSantis described Friday as a new chapter in state enforcement of federal immigration law.
The four-day operation deployed 45 troopers and 20 federal officers from the Department of Homeland Security across Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Okaloosa, Holmes, Bay, Washington, and Jackson counties.
The press conference comes days after Mid Bay News reported on a situation involving the Florida Highway Patrol’s Criminal Interdiction Unit, which appeared to have detained at least a half-dozen men near the People’s National Bank building in Niceville.
Mid Bay News contacted FHP on Wednesday for more information, but as of Friday afternoon, those requests have gone unanswered.
Officials said the crackdown was designed to target undocumented immigrants with prior deportation orders, fugitives, and repeat violators.
“Among those arrested, 37 illegals that had previously received final orders of removal and yet failed to appear in court, eight illegals that had been deported and illegally reentered the United States — one of which has been deported four times, just like a revolving door — these individuals will be federally charged,” DeSantis said.
He added that he expected the total number of arrests to climb by the end of the day.
Other than the 45 people arrested with prior immigration violations or removal orders, officials said no additional criminal history was reported among those detained.
DeSantis framed the operation as part of Florida’s broader strategy to backstop federal enforcement.
Since March, the Florida Highway Patrol has vetted nearly 4,700 individuals through Homeland Security databases, resulting in 3,600 arrests, including more than 600 people with prior criminal records, he said.
“This operation sends a clear and uncompromising message: We will not tolerate lawlessness in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “We’re going to continue to deploy every available resource to identify, apprehend, and remove those who seek to exploit our state and to endanger our people. While some states simply watch and wait, Florida leads”.
The governor also spotlighted the expansion of detention facilities, touting the success of the state’s “Alligator Alcatraz” processing center and announcing a new 2,000-bed “deportation depot” in Baker County near Jacksonville. He said the site’s proximity to an airport will allow for rapid removals in coordination with federal authorities.
The announcement comes just days after a federal judge ordered Alligator Alcatraz to wind down operations, citing environmental violations in the Everglades.
DeSantis dismissed the ruling as the work of an “activist judge” and pledged to appeal. “We’re not going to be deterred,” he said, insisting the state will continue expanding capacity for detainment and deportation flights.
To date, Florida has already spent more than $245 million in contracts tied to the Everglades facility, according to public records, raising questions from watchdogs about procurement and oversight.
The state’s broader immigration strategy has also faced constitutional roadblocks. In July, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to allow Florida to enforce a new immigration law that criminalized undocumented entry, leaving the measure blocked as likely unconstitutional.
DeSantis credited Florida’s 2019 ban on sanctuary cities and its 287(g) agreement with DHS, which deputizes state and local officers to enforce immigration law.
“The Florida Highway Patrol was the first agency in the entire country to execute a 287(g) agreement with DHS,” DeSantis said, calling it proof that state troopers are now empowered to “be part of the solution” in immigration enforcement.
The governor also recounted the recent case of an undocumented truck driver involved in a fatal wreck in Florida after obtaining a commercial driver’s license in California despite not speaking English. He said the Trump administration revoked the trucking company’s license and that Florida is exploring legal remedies for the victims’ families.
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner said the Panhandle arrests marked a turning point.
“This is the way that it’s going to be,” Kerner said. “So our immigration units are going to be in every county full-time. We’re going to be in every community. We’re going to touch every corner of this state, and we’re going to do our job. And we’re going to remove illegal immigrants.”
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a retired Green Beret appointed earlier this month, said Florida is setting a national standard. “What you really see is a governor dedicated to getting it right, doing the hard wrong, being willing to stand alone no matter what other people do,” Collins said.
Other law enforcement leaders credited DeSantis with raising trooper pay and empowering agencies.
“They’re kicking butt, they’re taking names, and they’re honored to do it, but it’s because you allow them to do their job,” one official said.
DeSantis concluded by emphasizing that Florida’s approach is producing measurable results. He said weekly deportation flights out of Tallahassee have already begun, and he expects the state’s model will influence other Republican-led states.
“What we’re talking about here is an operation that is producing tangible results, like really serious results that are going to result in more safety and security and prosperity for folks in this community and beyond,” DeSantis said.
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