A top Miami-Dade County official announced last week that Florida Highway Patrol troopers will be stationed at each of the county鈥檚 nine driver license offices, the day after Gov. Ron DeSantis said FHP troopers are being deputized to enforce federal immigration laws.
鈥淚n light of recent reports of minor safety disturbances in at least one of the County鈥檚 Driver License Offices, the Miami-Dade County Office of the Tax Collector is taking a proactive measure in collaboration with the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) to safeguard the well-being of customers and employees alike,鈥� said Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez in a issued last Thursday by his office, which now manages driver license offices.
鈥淔HP troopers will take appropriate actions against any individual(s) who threaten the safety of our facilities or cause disruptions in operations,鈥� he added.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis an agreement between federal immigration enforcement authorities and FHP last Wednesday, giving the state law enforcement agency officers the authority to enforce federal immigration laws when making arrests for traffic violations or other offenses.
"If you have an illegal [immigrant] driving drunk, and they get pulled over, the [FHP] can take them to immigration, too,鈥� DeSantis told reporters last Wednesday at a press conference that included FHP officials.
William 鈥淏ill鈥� Smith, Jr., a top official with the FHP union, said FHP troopers will carry out the governor鈥檚 orders but warned that the agency is understaffed and underfunded, noting there are more than 100 vacancies statewide.
鈥淸FHP troopers] do what they are told but we keep getting more and more and more assignments with no additional pay,鈥� Smith, president of the Florida Highway Patrol chapter of Florida鈥檚 Police Benevolent Association, .
Thirteen Attorneys General arguing the use of state and local police to enforce federal immigration laws is unconstitutional.
鈥淚t is well-established鈥攖hrough longstanding Supreme Court precedent鈥攖hat the U.S. Constitution prevents the federal government from commandeering states to enforce federal laws,鈥� they wrote. 鈥淲hile the federal government may use its own resources for federal immigration enforcement, the court ruled in Printz v. United States that the federal government cannot 鈥榠mpress into its service鈥攁nd at no cost to itself鈥攖he police officers of the 50 States.鈥欌��
鈥淎s state attorneys general, we have a responsibility to enforce state laws 鈥� and we will continue to investigate and prosecute crimes, regardless of immigration status,鈥� they added. 鈥淲e will not be distracted by the President鈥檚 mass deportation agenda.鈥�
During his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed 10 executive orders on immigration and issued a slew of edicts to carry out promises of mass deportations and border security.
Trump expanded arrest priorities to anyone in the country illegally, not just people with criminal convictions, public safety or national security threats and migrants stopped at the border.
