Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to local and state law enforcement officers during a news conference on border security at Homestead Air Force Base in Homestead in February.
Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/BloombergTrump Enlists an Army of Local Cops to Deport Millions
Almost 16,000 officers have joined the program, but some agencies have been more enthusiastic than others
The federal government is supercharging its use of local cops to hunt down immigrants suspected of being in the US illegally as part of an unprecedented effort to fulfill President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to deport millions of people.
Almost 16,000 local police, county sheriffs, state troopers, university law enforcement and even lottery investigators have been signed up to stop, arrest and detain undocumented immigrants. Nationwide data reviewed by Bloomberg show these officers, across 40 states, nabbed almost 3,000 people since Trump took office through the end of July. Florida keeps its own tally under the same program, and its deputized cops have arrested another 2,500 people since then.