Walton County, nestled along the Florida panhandle, has emerged as a showcase for the Trump administration’s expanded 287(g) initiative, which empowers local law enforcement to carry out federal immigration duties. The county’s sheriff’s department has banked close to $9 million in state funding and also receives per-diem payments from ICE for housing detainees, as detailed in a recent NPR investigation.
Sergeant Oscar D'Lassalas, who was certified under 287(g) last year, explained that his authority is narrowly defined. He doesn’t go looking for people who might have ICE detainers against them. However, if he stops a motorist for a traffic infraction and that person cannot produce identification, he will reach out to ICE to see if there’s an outstanding warrant. When a warrant does exist, D'Lassalas stated he has no leeway—the individual must be taken into custody and brought to jail.
The county sets aside dozens of beds specifically for ICE detainees, who can be held for up to 72 hours. Beyond the $9 million in state incentives, ICE compensates Walton County at a rate of $72 per inmate each day. Sheriff Michael Adkinson emphasized that his certified deputies are not deployed for immigration sweeps; rather, they only get involved when they come across someone committing a crime or posing a threat to public safety within Florida’s borders.
The program’s footprint has expanded dramatically during the current administration. By late July, ICE had inked over 2,100 agreements with local agencies across the country—a sharp jump compared to just two years prior. At the National Sheriff's Convention held in June, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin made a pitch for the program, dangling the prospect of covering deputy wages, gear, vehicles, and detention facility expenses in exchange for tangible outcomes, namely arrests.
Statewide, the Florida Highway Patrol tallied 9,000 immigration-related encounters over the past year, the highest figure in the state. Walton County itself logged more than 200 such encounters during that same timeframe, according to official state records.
Civil rights litigation has been filed in other jurisdictions, with plaintiffs alleging racial profiling under the program. Sam Lester, an immigrant rights attorney with the ACLU of Florida, pointed to cases where Latino U.S. citizens and green-card holders who speak with accents have been stopped, questioned about their immigration status, and in some instances taken into custody. D'Lassalas pushed back on that characterization, saying he would never engage in such behavior. He noted that his own father and late grandmother were immigrants from Colombia, and he stressed that he treats every person he encounters with respect, regardless of their immigration status. His primary allegiance, he said, is to the residents of Walton County, not to the federal initiative.
The NPR report noted that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not provide responses to the ACLU’s civil rights concerns.