TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are getting their most detailed look yet at the cost of the state’s aggressive immigration crackdown, and the price tag is steep.
A newly released report from Florida Emergency Management shows the state has spent more than $573 million since 2023, largely under emergency orders issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
WATCH: Lawmakers clash over $573M price tag of Florida’s immigration crackdown
The spending covers a wide range of enforcement efforts, including surveillance aircraft, helicopter engines, camera systems, vehicles, communications equipment and temporary trailers. It also includes the cost of deploying Florida law enforcement officers and National Guard members to Texas, as well as operating the state’s two controversial migrant detention and deportation facilities.
Democratic lawmakers quickly seized on the report, calling the spending an abuse of emergency powers and arguing Florida taxpayers are being forced to cover what should be a federal responsibility.
“The fact that over half a billion dollars has been spent on immigration enforcement when it should be the feds footing the bill for this is outrageous,” said House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell.
Senate Democrats echoed those concerns. Many warned last year that DeSantis' emergency orders have stretched on for years with little legislative oversight.
“What started in January 2023 has morphed into an unchecked abuse of executive powers,” said Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman.
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando went further, urging lawmakers to approve a bill limiting the governor’s emergency declarations.
“This executive order should not be renewed,” Smith said in December. “It has been extended almost 20 times with no oversight, no accountability from the Florida Legislature.”
The DeSantis administration and Republican leaders have defended the costs. They argue the federal government is expected to reimburse a significant portion of the spending — potentially as much as $600 million — and point to enforcement results as justification.
At a press conference last month, Attorney General James Uthmeier said Florida’s actions are about public safety.
“We enforce the law, we take that seriously,” Uthmeier said. “We’re going to continue to be the safest state to raise a family in the country.”
State officials have also highlighted that Florida’s immigration operations led to roughly 20,000 immigration-related arrests in 2025 alone, arguing the results show the investment is paying off.
“There’s no other state that has been able to do anything approaching what the state of Florida has been able to do,” DeSantis said in January.
Meanwhile, Florida is awaiting federal approval to open a third migrant detention facility in the Panhandle, with a possible fourth site elsewhere in the state. The projected cost of those facilities has not yet been disclosed.
The spending will likely take center stage Thursday, when a state Senate committee considers legislation aimed at preserving Florida’s emergency fund. The debate could determine whether the state continues financing large-scale immigration enforcement through emergency powers.
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