SUMMARY: As Donald Trump begins his second term, many undocumented immigrants and those with temporary legal status fear deportation. Nora Sandigo, a legal guardian for over 2,000 children, helps families prepare by advising them to carry key documents and know whom to contact. Many, like Erlinda from El Salvador, worry about being separated from their children. Deportation plans appear uncertain, but the threat remains, especially for sanctuary cities like Chicago, which has reinforced policies against local cooperation with immigration authorities. Religious leaders in these areas are speaking out in solidarity with the immigrant community, emphasizing their city’s legacy of inclusion.
As the Trump administration pushes for more deportations, the government has revived a long-abandoned program that lets local and state law enforcement challenge people on the street about immigration status — and possibly arrest them for deportation.
So far, state and county agencies in Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas have already signed up for the “task force” program that was dropped in 2012 after abuses including racial profiling were discovered, costing tens of millions in lawsuits. New Hampshire State Police will sign an agreement soon.
A webpage for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement noted 11 new agreements with agencies in five states between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19 for the controversial program. The program, known at ICE as its “task force model,” allows local law enforcement officers to challenge people on immigration status in the course of routine police work.
Agreements were shown for Florida’s state highway patrol and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho’s Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, three Oklahoma state agencies (the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Narcotics), the Texas attorney general’s office and sheriffs in Douglas County, Nevada, and the Texas counties of Goliad and Smith.
The task force agreements with ICE were discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration after a 2011 Department of Justice investigation found widespread racial profiling and other discrimination against Latinos in an Arizona task force.
New agreements
The new task force agreements also are separate from other so-called 287(g) cooperation agreements that allow local sheriffs or police departments to help with investigations of people already arrested and booked into local jails.
The task force model goes further, with ICE describing it as a “force multiplier.” The federal agency trains and supervises local officers so they can arrest people for immigration violations during their day-to-day duties.
Florida was the first state to sign a Trump-era task force agreement for its state police agency, on Feb. 17, according to the site. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced more agreements Feb. 19. Other state agencies will participate in challenging people on immigration status: The Florida Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement, which inspects produce entering and leaving the state, has already signed an agreement, DeSantis said.
He said other state agencies will follow with task force agreements: the Department of Law Enforcement, which helps local police investigate crimes and guards the state Capitol; the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which patrols forests and waterways; and the State Guard, a volunteer military-type response agency that DeSantis reactivated in 2022.
“Our state law enforcement officers will finally be able to cooperate” not only through ICE arrests at local jails but also through the new agreements that give “expanded power and authority to interrogate any suspected alien or person believed to be an alien as of their right to be in the United States,” DeSantis said at a news conference earlier this month.
Elsewhere the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which helps local police investigate crimes, announced its agreement Feb. 17. Director Tony Mattivi, in a news release, said the new powers would be “another tool to get known criminal offenders out of our community,” adding that his agents would focus on violent crimes, crimes against children and organized drug trafficking.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the agreement Feb. 21; it was signed Feb. 18. In a statement, Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton said the task force will focus on “those who threaten public safety.”
‘We promised a mass deportation’
Immigrant advocates in Florida see danger in the task force interrogations for both immigrants and localities, such as the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, that decide to enlist in the program.
“They’re going to stop somebody for a routine traffic violation or loitering and ask about immigration status,” said Thomas Kennedy, a policy consultant for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, which represents 83 immigrant advocacy groups in the state.
“That’s bad for civil rights, it’s bad for our community, for trust between law enforcement and the community, for the reporting of crimes. But it also exposes municipalities and police departments to litigation,” Kennedy said.
In Arizona, Maricopa County was forced to pay $43 million in litigation fees from lawsuits before ICE stopped its task force partnership with the county in 2009. The fallout from a 2013 federal court finding of racial profiling is expected to boost taxpayer costs to $314 million this year.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, met with sheriffs at a February conference in Washington, D.C., and encouraged them to “help us on the street” by participating in the 287(g) task force program.
Homan told sheriffs he’s working to lower costs for their participation by cutting the training period for deputies from four weeks to about one week, and lowering legal liability costs with what he called “full-scale indemnification.” “If you get sued, the department [of Homeland Security] will help you out and defend you,” he said, getting applause from sheriffs in the audience.
It’s bad for our community, for trust between law enforcement and the community, for the reporting of crimes.
– Thomas Kennedy, Florida Immigrant Coalition policy consultant
It’s hard to say how many immigration arrests and deportations might result from the revived task forces. Local officers trained for task force agreements are generally busy with other patrol tasks. A 2011 report by the Migration Policy Institute — based on 2010 data, when there were 37 task force agreements in 18 states — found that task forces generated far fewer arrests than automated fingerprint scanning in local jails.
The task force agreements can also generate community controversy, as they did in Prince William County, Virginia, in 2007, when police at first screened anyone they detained on the street for immigration status. That policy led to “widespread fear and panic in the immigrant community,” according to the report.
In response, the county changed its policy to investigate immigration status only after arresting and booking at the local jail, the report noted.
While many state leaders said they plan to focus on dangerous criminals who also are living in the U.S. illegally, Homan said at the conference that others may be deported simply for immigration crimes.
“We promised a mass deportation and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Homan told sheriffs. “People are saying, ‘Oh my God, you said you were going to concentrate just on criminals.’ Yeah, that’s what we’re going to prioritize, but if you’re not in this country legally, you got a problem. You’re not off the table.”
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This report was first published by Stateline, part of the States Newsroom nonprofit news network. It’s supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
“Granny cams” may be coming to Florida nursing homes.
A House panel on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to approve a bill (HB 223) that would allow long term care facility residents to install electronic recording devices as long as they are willing to foot the bill for installation, removal, and the internet needed to run them.
Nursing home residents who share rooms would have to secure permission from their roommates to use the cameras. Consenting roommates are allowed to put restrictions on camera use and require that the camera be pointed away or prohibit use of specific devices.
If a roommate doesn’t agree, the legislation would require a facility to make accommodations by moving one of the residents to another room.
Rep. Susan Plasencia has filed legislation to allow the use of “granny cams” in Florida nursing homes. (Photo/Florida House of Representatives)
“If you look at the news lately, you’ll see and you’ll find whether there’s a lot of issues happening that people catch on cameras that they otherwise would would not. And they’re horrific scenes happening to people who are elderly, who can’t take care of themselves, and who, even if they could say what happened, people wouldn’t believe it, because maybe they have dementia or Alzheimer’s or something that would cause someone to not believe what they are saying,” bill sponsor Rep. Susan Plasecia, a Republican representing part of Orange and Seminole counties, told members of the House Health Care Facilities & Systems Subcommittee Thursday.
“And so for me, it’s important to speak for them and that’s what brought me here.”
Nineteen states allow camera use in nursing homes, Plasencia said. Florida law, though, is silent on whether electronic recording devices can be used. That means facilities decide whether to allow them.
Plasencia said her bill protects the public and puts “guardrails” into statutes outlining what can and cannot be done.
The vote to advance the bill came over objections of Florida’s long term care industry.
We know that nursing home and assisted living facility cameras help with deterring abuse and neglect and also help with identifying where there can be improvements made to a loved one’s care.
– AARP Florida Associate State Director of Advocacy Karen Murillo
Jen Lawrence, chief nursing officer at Aston Health and a member of the statewide nursing home association, the Florida Health Care Association, said lots of personal things happen in residents’ rooms, including bathing and grooming, psychiatric visits, and meetings with clergy. The cameras, she said, will capture it all.
Moreover, she expressed concerns that the resident’s family or guardian would be responsible for ensuring the roommate’s privacy is protected. “This is a family member of a roommate. How do we trust those folks in controlling what is being videotaped and recorded?” Lawrence asked.
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Maryellen Lalor with the group Protect Florida Seniors testified for the bill, sharing the story of her husband who lived in a nursing home for more than 2 1/2 years before dying. She tried to sneak a camera into her husband’s room after he was admitted but the facility found it and made her remove it. She said she never complained out of fear of retaliation against her husband, knowing he would reside in the facility until he died.
Lalor countered Lawrence’s testimony by telling the subcommittee members that nursing home residents in semi-private rooms don’t enjoy the privacy that people think they might.
“As far as confidentiality, when you’re in a semi-private room and they’re going to do personal care to the other person, the curtain is pulled. When you are meeting with a psychologist or therapist, that person goes right in. The other [resident] can hear, okay? So as far as the concern about hearing other people, everything is exposed.”
FHCA wasn’t the only long term care association to flag concerns. Florida Assisted Living Association CEO Bijou Ikli and Florida Senior Living Association vice president for Public Policy and legal Affairs Jason Hand also expressed concerns.
But Karen Murillo, AARP Florida’s state director for advocacy, argued the bill would improve safety and keep the family members abreast of the care being provided to their loved ones.
“We know that nursing home and assisted living facility cameras help with deterring abuse and neglect and also help with identifying where there can be improvements made to a loved one’s care. AARP is a big advocate of family caregivers, especially those who are far away, and these cameras will provide peace of mind and the ability for family caregivers to be advocates, present, and part of their loved ones’ care,” Murillo said.
Spike in abuse reports
Democratic Reps. Daryl Campbell (left) and Gallup Franklin (right) voted against HB 223 Thursday. (Photo/Florida House of Representatives.)
The legislation comes a year after the Tampa Bay Times reported a spike in allegations of serious violations against Florida nursing homes — between 2019 and 2022, nearly double the reports during the previous six years.
The Times’ reporting showed that in 2022, nursing homes were cited 83 times for putting older adult residents at risk of immediate danger.
Looking ahead
Several of the committee members asked about privacy, how often the agreements between roommates could be altered, who would enforce the agreements, and whether long term care facility staff could access the images being captured.
Rep. Hillary Cassel, a Republican from Fort Lauderdale, worried about how visitors, some of whom could suffer from dementia or have vision problems, would know video cameras were being used in the room.
Plasencia committed to continuing to work with members to address their concerns. Reps. Daryl Campbell, a Democrat from Fort Lauderdale, and Gallop Franklin, a Democrat from Tallahassee, voted against the bill.
HB 223 has two more committee stops (Judiciary and Health and Human Services) before it can be heard on the floor.
A companion bill (SB 64) was filed by Republican Sen. Illeana Garcia. It has been referenced to three Senate committees (Health Policy, Judiciary, and Rules) but has yet to be considered.
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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Steve Wilson | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-02-20 12:58:00
(The Center Square) – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier joined a class action lawsuit against Target on Thursday alleging the retail giant concealed the possible effects on its stock price from its pro-LGBTQ policies.
The lawsuit was filed along with America First Legal, Boyden Gray PLLC and Lawson Huck Gonzalez in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Fort Myers.
Uthmeier said the state is joining the lawsuit due to possible effects on the state’s defined-benefit pension plan for state and local employees, which is a Target investor.
The lawsuit alleges Target violated two sections of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by failing to disclose risks of consumer backlash to its polices on diversity, equity and inclusion and environmental, social and governance. The complaint also alleges that Target misled investors by claiming to monitor those risks.
After Target’s Pride Campaign in 2023, the company’s stock plummeted, losing $10 billion in market value in just 10 days and erasing $25 billion in shareholder value over the course of six months. According to the complaint, that was Target stock’s worst performance and longest losing streak in 23 years.
“Those losses put the retirement accounts of Florida’s teachers and first responders at unacceptable risk,” Uthmeier said in a video posted to X. “Our public servants should not suffer diminished retirement security because companies focused on leftist virtue signaling. No company should be celebrating and marketing the sexualization of our children.
“This is a fight worth having and we will fight to hold Target financially accountable for these wrongful practices and force them to get back to the business of doing business.”
It represents the second lawsuit brought against Target by the two law firms over what they characterize as securities fraud from the company concealing possible fiscal impacts of its LGBTQ activism. The first lawsuit is still active.
“My office will stridently pursue corporate reform so that companies get back to the business of doing business — not offensive political theater,” Uthmeier said in a news release. “We appreciate America First Legal’s assistance in the fight to keep Florida’s investments safe.”
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis also praised the state joining the lawsuit in a statement.
“We’ve seen time and time again that when companies prioritize performative virtue signaling and wokeness over profitability, they alienate customers, lose market value, and erode shareholder trust — all while pretending their activism carries no financial risk,” Patronis said. “It’s unacceptable and Florida is fighting back on behalf of taxpayers and investors that have had enough.
“Businesses like Target need to focus on the bottom line and do right by their customers, not some ESG overlords. Thank you to Governor DeSantis and the SBA for leaning forward on this issue.”
