Joe Biden invited them in.
Now Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia is writing checks to the sheriffs who are sending them home.
Seven Panhandle law enforcement agencies just got over $2 million in federal reimbursements – and Ingoglia had a message for anyone who doesn't like it.
Florida Is Not Waiting for Washington
"If you're here illegally, expect your ass to get sent home."
That's what Ingoglia told critics at a Panama City press conference where he handed out ceremonial checks to agencies that have been doing the work the Biden administration spent four years refusing to do.
Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford had the biggest number – $685,958 – and he earned it.
Ford said his office has 18 deputies fully committed to immigration enforcement under the federal 287(g) program.
Over the past year, those 18 deputies arrested roughly 1,100 criminal illegal aliens.
That's not a statistic.
That's 1,100 people who were in your county who had no right to be there.
Walton County Sheriff's Office received $648,805.
Washington County got $77,530.
The Marianna Police Department received $30,361.
City of Blountstown Police Department received $26,055.
Holmes County Sheriff's Office received $24,892.
Calhoun County Sheriff's Office received $15,701.
This Is What the Model Looks Like
The money flows through the Florida State Board of Immigration Enforcement – a cabinet-level body that includes Governor DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.
Florida's legislature allocated $250 million for these reimbursements, and Ingoglia has been spending it aggressively.
The Panhandle disbursement is the latest in about half a dozen similar events across the state in the past six months alone – from Palm Beach to Brevard to Pasco County.
Florida now leads the entire nation with 325 active 287(g) agreements – a 577% increase since January 20, 2025.
That number tells you everything about what was happening before Trump took office.
Local sheriffs were doing the work.
https://twitter.com/GovGoneWild/status/2029288120114426158?s=20
They just weren't getting paid for it.
What Biden Left Behind – and Who's Cleaning It Up
Ingoglia didn't let Biden off the hook.
"This is something that has plagued this nation for the better part of several years," he said, pointing directly at the open-border policies that left Florida sheriffs holding the bag.
Bay County Sheriff Ford made it concrete: the 48-hour federal holds required under 287(g) don't happen for free.
Detention costs money. Medical care costs money. Meals cost money.
Every criminal illegal alien sitting in a Florida county jail waiting for ICE transfer is coming out of local taxpayer budgets – unless the state steps in.
That's exactly what Ingoglia is doing.
DHS data from Florida enforcement operations documents what's actually being removed: murderers, convicted pedophiles, kidnappers, gang members, drug traffickers connected to foreign terrorist organizations.
The Panhandle, specifically, has been hit hard by drug trafficking – Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews tied the methamphetamine flooding his rural county directly to illegal immigration networks.
That's not an abstraction.
https://twitter.com/GovGoneWild/status/2029227846699246020?s=20
That's your neighbor's kid.
The Model Other States Can Copy – Or Refuse To
Florida has built something that didn't exist three years ago: a self-sustaining enforcement machine that funds local participation, trains officers at no cost, and reimburses the real expenses that made sheriffs hesitant to engage.
The 577% jump in 287(g) agreements didn't happen because sheriffs suddenly became more patriotic.
It happened because someone finally made it financially viable to do the right thing.
States like California, Illinois, and New Jersey are going the opposite direction – passing laws that actively block local cooperation with ICE and letting dangerous people walk while Florida removes them.
Gavin Newsom and J.B. Pritzker call that compassion.
Bay County's 1,100 arrests call it something else.
"The biggest deterrent we could ever have is strong law enforcement," Ingoglia said.
He's right.
And Biden spent four years proving it by doing the opposite.
Sources:
- "Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia Awards Over $2 Million to Support Florida Law Enforcement Agencies in Immigration Enforcement Efforts," Florida CFO Press Release, February 23, 2026.
- "ICE Awards Florida's State and Local Law Enforcement with 287(g) Funds to Defend the Homeland," ICE.gov, September 26, 2025.
- "Governor Ron DeSantis Highlights Success of Florida-Federal Immigration Partnership as Operation Tidal Wave Reaches More Than 10,000 Arrests," Executive Office of the Governor, 2026.
- "DHS Highlights Worst of the Worst Criminal Illegal Aliens Arrested in Florida," U.S. Department of Homeland Security, June 30, 2025.
- "Florida Issues Reimbursement Checks to Law Enforcement for Immigration Enforcement Efforts," WKMG ClickOrlando, January 15, 2026.
- "Florida CFO Ingoglia Awards Millions to Panhandle Sheriffs for Immigration Enforcement," CBS12/CW34, February 23, 2026.
