TALLAHASSEE \u2014 The Florida Division of Emergency Management spent another $45.3 million for immigration enforcement-related costs, bringing the total for the year to nearly $460 million.<\/p>\n
According to Transparency Florida, a government accountability website through the executive office of the governor, the division filed a budget amendment May 6, notifying the Legislature it was spending $45.3 million out of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund to pay off invoices for the 2025-2026 year.<\/p>\n
In total, the division has spent $458.5 million in emergency funds on illegal immigration enforcement in the past year.<\/p>\n
The division was blocked from spending money<\/a> from the fund on any new contracts after Feb. 17, when the Legislature failed to renew its authorization, but the state can still use funds to pay off any invoices before the expiration date.<\/p>\n The records didn\u2019t detail how the money was spent, other than noting it was for \u201cillegal migration.\u201d<\/p>\n Florida Division of Emergency Management officials did not respond to emails or a phone call requesting comment.<\/p>\n The fund was created in 2022 to handle hurricane preparation and response and other natural disasters, allowing Gov. Ron DeSantis to quickly dispense money during states of emergency.<\/p>\n Since 2022, the lawmakers have deposited $4.77 billion into the fund. As of a few weeks ago, the fund balance was $199 million.<\/p>\n DeSantis first issued a state of emergency about illegal immigration<\/a> in January 2023 and has renewed it <\/a>every 60 days \u2014 more than 20 times \u2014 since.<\/p>\n In the past year, hundreds of millions of dollars from the emergency fund have been spent on illegal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n Lawmakers eventually passed a bill to resurrect the emergency fund, but it imposes new rules on how the money can be spent. Emergencies that are not natural disasters would need to have spending approved by the chair and vice-chair of the Legislative Budget Commission.<\/p>\n Also, if the federal government reimburses the state for any spending, the money would be set aside to pay for outstanding invoices from vendors. And money in the fund can\u2019t be used to buy aircraft, motor vehicles or boats, but they could be leased to respond to an emergency.<\/p>\n The bill passed the Legislature but hasn\u2019t been sent to DeSantis\u2019 desk, leaving the fund in limbo still.<\/p>\n