ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida State Board of Immigration Enforcement is set to approve $53 million in funding for local law enforcement agencies.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is asking for $5.9 million of that. It’s the third-largest request from all the other state law enforcement agencies involved.
Sheriff Chip Simmons says the funding isn’t for supporting ICE in particular, but for supporting his deputies.
The sheriff’s office has already been given nearly $900,000 in state immigration funds. But now they want millions more.
Sheriff Simmons says the money will go towards radios, body camera data storage and license plate readers for deputies.
“So all of that totals up to close to $5 million and if the money’s available, we felt like we would save the taxpayer some dollars and try to get that money,” Simmons said. “And we’re waiting to see if we’ve been approved.”
WEAR: Okay, so why request it from the Immigration and Enforcement Board?Simmons: Because that’s what it was available for.
Simmons says the money for this equipment would take years, if not decades, to get from any other donor.
WEAR: So would you say this is less about ICE and more just about a place to get the money from?Simmons: I think you can’t pinpoint one thing that we’re gonna do with this. Yeah, it is certainly going to help us with interoperability with our law enforcement partners to include ICE. But I would say this is about taking advantage of an opportunity here at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to upgrade our radio system, upgrade our computer system, our infrastructure.
The immigration board’s executive director has already approved the sheriff’s request. But Gov. Ron DeSantis and his cabinet still have the final say.
The cabinet is set to discuss this topic at their meeting on Tuesday. Chair of the Escambia County Democratic Party Derrick Scott says the sheriff’s priorities are in the wrong place.
“So anything that stokes or elicits or helps to embody or embolden policies that create fear and division them under mod stability of the community, families, and it disrupts the workforce that our local economy depends on,” said Scott. “We should be investing them in resources that prevent crime, support youth, address mental health, address substance abuse, and strengthen community partnerships.”
Since the State Board of Immigration Enforcement was created in 2025, the cabinet has not turned down any funding requests.
Watch the full interview with Sheriff Simmons below.
WEAR News interviews Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons.