JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Families who say they have to wait days to find and contact loved ones held at new Florida immigration facilities are hoping a new bill under consideration in this year\u2019s legislative session will help solve some of those issues.<\/p>\n
Families of detainees in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can track their location online, but for those housed at \u201cDeportation Depot\u201d or \u201cAlligator Alcatraz,\u201d it may take longer to appear in the system.<\/p>\n
ICE has an \u201cOnline Detainee Locator System<\/a>\u201d that helps locate detainees who are in its custody or who have been in U.S. Customs and Border Protection\u2019s custody for more than 48 hours. However, state-run immigration detention facilities, such as \u201cDeportation Depot\u201d in Baker County and \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d in the Florida Everglades, may take up to three days \u2014 and sometimes even longer \u2014 to appear in the online portal.<\/p>\n Vilerka Bilbao, founder of Bilbao Law in Jacksonville, said the longer wait to track detainees can create several issues not only for families, but also for employers and attorneys.<\/p>\n \u201cTo start their legal process, to request bond, to find out where they are, to maybe take the necessary medication that they need, or maybe to go and figure out where the person was arrested and pick up their vehicle, which might be on the side of the road,\u201d Bilbao told News4JAX.<\/p>\n Senate Bill 708<\/a>, introduced by State Sen. Lori Berman (D-Boynton Beach), would require the State Board of Immigration Enforcement to create and manage the \u201cState Immigration Enforcement Action Database.\u201d This database would be a publicly available website that would include immigration enforcement actions and important information to help track detainees better, including:<\/p>\n The name and birthdate of the person<\/p>\n The date of arrest or detention, or the date when the agency or entity first took custody of the person<\/p>\n The location of the arrest or detention<\/p>\n If the person is still in state custody, where the person is housed<\/p>\n If the person is no longer in state custody, when the person was released or transferred to another jurisdiction<\/p>\n If passed, this new bill would require the State Board of Immigration Enforcement to update the information about a detainee within 48 hours of the immigration-related action.<\/p>\n Bilbao said this bill is about \u201cbasic accountability and transparency,\u201d and added that it would benefit all of the parties involved, including state agencies. However, she said it would especially help families who sometimes spend days without knowing where their loved one is.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fairly common that a family contacts us. They tell us maybe which county or which city the person was arrested at, and then you call the county jail. They\u2019re not there. Maybe they didn\u2019t actually get fully processed in that county jail,\u201d Bilbao said.<\/p>\n In September 2025, News4JAX interviewed a Cuban-American woman who was trying to figure out the exact location of her husband, who was initially taken into ICE custody in Broward County. However, she later learned that he had been transferred to another facility.<\/p>\n RELATED | \u2018My baby needs his dad\u2019: Cuban-American mother struggles to contact husband believed to be at \u2018Deportation Depot\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n When News4JAX searched for her husband\u2019s location on the ICE online locator, it said to \u201ccall the Department of Corrections\u201d for more information.<\/p>\n \u201cNo email, no address, no phone number where you can call or anything,\u201d the wife told News4JAX.<\/p>\n She said her lawyer eventually received an email that he was in Baker County. However, since there are now two ICE facilities in this county, it took longer to figure out exactly where her husband was being housed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they deport him, I\u2019m not going to know where or what\u2019s going on because the system is not working,\u201d the woman said back in September.<\/p>\n Bilbao said it is because of cases like this that this bill could be a game-changer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state has chosen to play an expanded role in immigration detention. And so with that choice comes the responsibility to maintain clear records. And one database across the state of Florida actually facilitates, and it doesn\u2019t hinder detention efforts,\u201d Bilbao said.<\/p>\n If passed, SB 708 would go into effect on July 1.<\/p>\n Other immigration-related billsSB 86 – HB 1247 | Commercial Motor Vehicles Operated by Unauthorized Aliens<\/p>\n One of the bills that has been successfully advancing through the Legislature is Senate Bill 86, which explicitly states Florida\u2019s policy regarding the operation of commercial vehicles by undocumented immigrants. <\/p>\n This bill, in part, creates a process requiring certain law enforcement officers to take into custody an unauthorized driver operating a commercial motor vehicle and to facilitate transfer to federal immigration authorities. It also requires the commercial motor vehicle to be impounded and\/or removed under specified circumstances and imposes a $50,000 civil penalty on companies tied to the unauthorized driver operating the commercial vehicle.<\/p>\n SB 316 – HB 419 | Law Enforcement and Immigration Officer Identifying Information and Face Coverings (VISIBLE Act)<\/p>\n In November 2025, State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando) and Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) filed what they called \u201cThe VISIBLE Act,\u201d<\/a> a legislation that would require law enforcement and immigration officers to display visible identification and prohibit the use of face coverings during public enforcement actions.<\/p>\n