ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
The Trump administration is continuing to push a program that partners state and local law enforcement with ICE. The program gives local police the power to enforce federal immigration laws, but details on how it works in different parts of the country have been hard to find. NPR's Jaclyn Diaz visited one community in Florida and joins us now. Hey, Jaclyn.
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: Hey.
SCHMITZ: So this program is called the 287(g) program. It was expanded under the Trump administration. Jaclyn, let's take a step back and explain a little bit more about how it works.
DIAZ: Yeah, of course. So basically, this all actually started more than 30 years ago, and both Democratic and Republican administrations have used it. But as of this week, ICE has signed more than 2,300 contracts with local agencies across the country. So this gives officers in those agencies various powers for immigration enforcement. So that can look like interrogating people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally and arresting them. The federal government is giving a lot of money to local police who join this program. And nationwide, we are talking millions of dollars.
SCHMITZ: So, Jaclyn, I understand you recently visited Walton County, Florida, to find out how this program actually plays out on the ground, right?
DIAZ: Yeah, I did. Yep. So Walton County is this fast-growing community in the Florida panhandle. It borders Alabama to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Florida as a whole, leads the nation with the most law enforcement agencies with these 287(g) agreements, and some agencies are really going all-in, like Florida Highway Patrol. They reported 9,000 immigration encounters in the last year.
SCHMITZ: OK.
DIAZ: But not every department enrolled in this program sees immigration enforcement as a major priority. Some Florida sheriffs have expressed concern about going after immigrants who aren't committing crimes and who are just trying to build a life here. So in Walton County, there's a strong immigrant population. About 10% of residents are Hispanic. Immigrants do a lot of the work in construction and tourism. Those are the big industries in the area.
Michael Adkinson is the sheriff there. His office joined this partnership with ICE last year, and he says it's not his main priority. So according to state data, Walton County had a couple hundred immigration encounters. That's compared to Florida Highway Patrol, which again, reported thousands. Adkinson explained his approach like this.
MICHAEL ADKINSON: We're not doing immigration sweeps 'cause, quite frankly, we have day jobs here. We have other things that are critically important to the local people here that they expect to be done.
DIAZ: He says they are focused on people who commit crimes or pose a danger.
SCHMITZ: OK. So you mentioned Walton County has a pretty significant immigrant population. Did you speak to anyone in that community about how they feel about law enforcement's partnership with ICE?
DIAZ: Yeah, we did. We spoke with undocumented construction workers and a housing developer there, and they all said immigrants are really scared. A lot of them don't go out much. They pretty much just go to work and back. Two workers we spoke with said they think a lot about going back home to Central America.
But the program also has its supporters. Walton County is heavily Republican, and County Commissioner Danny Glidewell told me that residents back the sheriff's role in the 287(g) program.
SCHMITZ: That is NPR's Jaclyn Diaz. The story was co-reported with NPR's Marisa Peñaloza. Thank you.
DIAZ: Thank you.
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