By Ana Goñi-Lessan, The News Service of Florida
The two chambers of the Florida Legislature still haven’t decided whether to give Gov. Ron DeSantis the authority to spend money out of the state’s emergency fund for immigration enforcement, days before the 2026 regular session is scheduled to end.
The Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, created in 2022 by the Legislature with hundreds of millions of dollars originally earmarked to handle hurricanes and other natural disasters has been used by DeSantis for illegal immigration enforcement.
But the fund expired last month as the chambers disagreed over the rules surrounding how money from it can be spent.
The House wants more restrictions on how the money can be spent on emergencies not related to natural disasters, although the chamber weakened some of those provisions, while the Senate wants to renew the fund with minimal restrictions.
On Monday the House stripped took up the Senate’s version of the bill (SB 7040) to extend the fund, which expired last month, and put its preferred version, setting up talks over the issue during formal budget negotiations. Those talks haven’t started, likely pushing the regular session, which is scheduled to end Friday, into overtime.
An earlier version of the House bill limited the state’s ability to spend money and redefined how the money should be used, striking out the word “disaster” and replacing it with “natural emergency,” essentially banning purchases and contracts related to immigration enforcement.
But bill sponsor Rep. Griff Griffiths, R-Panama City Beach, amended the bill last month to allow funds to be used for “manmade” and “technological” disasters, aligning it more with the Senate version.
On Monday, Democrats continued to criticize House Republicans for walking back accountability measures after the state spent $573 million on illegal immigration enforcement in one year.
“It’s giving scammer, it’s giving we don’t know what’s going on with our money,” said Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg.
The bill still requires quarterly reports on spending. Any reimbursements by the federal government would go into the general revenue fund, not back into the emergency trust fund, and money couldn’t be used on aircraft, boats or motor vehicles.
Florida has positioned itself as leading the country in illegal immigration enforcement, mandating all local law enforcement agencies, from school districts to sheriff’s offices, to enter into 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
DeSantis first issued an emergency declaration on immigration in early January 2023 during the Biden administration, the governor’s office has since renewed it every 60 days.
The emergency declaration has allowed the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) to use money from the fund to establish Alligator Alcatraz and Deportation Depot, two state-run immigration detention facilities created in 2025.
Between 2023 and 2025, the state spent over $29 million in property, including helicopter engines, 2,500 cargo vans and trailers for immigration enforcement-related purposes.
Since 2022, when the fund was established, the Legislature has deposited $4.77 billion into the fund. As of early February, the fund had $209 million, according to the Senate Majority Office.