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State immigration dashboard published
Briona Arradondo reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - The state of Florida is sharing the scope of its immigration enforcement efforts. State officials published an online dashboard breaking down arrests and encounters with people suspected of being in the country illegally.
What we know:
Immigration enforcement efforts are heating up in Florida.
READ: Haines City Woman leads protest against local law enforcement's ICE partnership
"We’re helping deliver people here illegally to the feds and ICE and DHS, and that’s continuing," said Governor Ron DeSantis, R-Florida.
On October 3, state officials from the Florida Board of Immigration Enforcement published an online dashboard with whom they’ve encountered since August 1.
"As people come here illegally, and they are detained and processed, they are moved from Florida very quickly now," said DeSantis.
MORE: 'Alligator Alcatraz': Florida immigration detention center approved for $608 million reimbursement
By the numbers:
According to the website, law enforcement had 5,074 encounters with people suspected of being in the country illegally from August 1 to October 9. Of those, 4,083 people were arrested, and 2,205 of those arrests were under 287(g) agreements.
"So, 287(g) agreements are agreements where local law enforcement, so you're looking at people like police departments, sheriff offices, or correctional facilities, where they would have an agreement in place with the federal government, with ICE. And the agreement extends to enforcement. It extends to detention," said Jamila Little, an immigration attorney in Tampa.
The state’s dashboard said law enforcement had the most contact with people from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. There were 27 people who were U.S. citizens as well. Of those thousands, some were arrested on federal immigration charges, others on local or state charges, or not arrested at all.
Little helps people navigate the encounters and arrests in Florida and across the country.
READ: Trump replaces fired immigration judges with military lawyers
"We just actually had to file bond today for one of our clients who was picked up on a bus," said Little.
What they're saying:
Ana Lamb hears these stories of people being detained or arrested while out in the community. She is a community advocate for immigrants in Hillsborough County.
"There are no words to express how, not disappointed, but how heartbreaking is this to see even the kids saying to the parents, 'I'm afraid,'" said Lamb. "It's impacting families. It's not only financially, but it's emotionally, legally. So, all the impact that it's causing is dehumanizing."
Community advocates and attorneys are urging everyone to know their rights and carry documentation.
"If you are a U.S. Citizen, you should have your ID. It's unfortunate that we're now telling naturalized U.S. citizens to take your naturalization certificates with you," said Little.
DeSantis said more detention centers like Alligator Alcatraz are coming. He said this week that northwest Florida will soon have a center where people can be processed for illegal immigration.
The Source: The information in this story came from the State Board of Immigration Enforcement in Florida, and it was gathered by FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo.