Podcast Summary: The Florida Cops Who Act as ICE Agents
Podcast: The Journal.
Hosts: Jessica Mendoza & Ryan Knutson
Reporter: Ariane Campo Flores
Date: September 22, 2025
Produced by: The Wall Street Journal & Spotify Studios
Episode Overview
This episode explores how Florida state troopers are increasingly acting as immigration enforcement agents under a federal program known as 287(g), which deputizes local law enforcement to carry out certain duties typically reserved for ICE. Reporter Ariane Campo Flores takes listeners on a ride-along with the Florida Highway Patrol as they participate in this initiative, providing firsthand accounts of how routine traffic stops can escalate into immigration arrests. The episode examines the political, social, and operational implications of this policy expansion and Florida’s role as a national leader in state-level immigration enforcement.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. A New Kind of Ride-Along
- Ariane's Experience: Ariane Campo Flores describes riding with Master Sergeant Tony Kingery through Lake Worth, Florida, noting this was not her typical police ride-along. Instead of targeting drugs or gangs, troopers hunted for undocumented immigrants.
- Quote (Ariane Campo Flores, 00:28): “I honestly didn't know what to expect. I've never done a ride along of this nature before.”
2. A Traffic Stop, Escalated
- The Stop: The narrative follows Kingery stopping a white van for minor equipment violations (missing bumper, broken taillight), which quickly escalates when the driver presents a Guatemalan consular ID rather than a U.S. license.
- Quote (Sergeant Tony Kingery, 01:11): “It doesn’t have a front bumper, which is illegal in the state of Florida. You have to have a front bumper.”
- Shift in Protocol: Asking about citizenship status is no longer unusual during stops, as enabled by new policies.
- Quote (Narrator/Jessica Mendoza, 02:12): “The driver and his passenger both ended up in handcuffs on suspicion they were in the country illegally. This quick escalation...was made possible by a federal program...”
3. Inside 287(g): The Legal Backdrop
- Program Origin: 287(g) comes from a late-1990s federal law, designed to allow state/local police to perform some ICE duties.
- Growth and contraction of the program has shifted with presidential administrations (Bush: expansion; Obama: contraction; Trump: renewed expansion, especially with the “task force” model).
- Quote (Ariane Campo Flores, 04:44): “That program 287 has gone through a lot of iterations depending on which administration has been in power...”
- Trump’s Second Term: The return of the 287(g) task force model broadens police authority on immigration matters.
- Quote (Sergeant Tony Kingery/Trump campaign, 06:05): "Immediately upon taking the oath of office, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history."
4. Florida as National Test Case
- Big Investments: Florida devotes almost $300 million to immigration enforcement, builds a new detention center ("Alligator Alcatraz"), and leads the nation in 287(g) agreements.
- Quote (Ariane Campo Flores, 07:19): “Florida is the leader. It's the leading state in striking 287.”
5. Civil Liberties Concerns & Community Impact
- Risk of Racial Profiling: Critics argue the program leads to discriminatory stops and erodes trust.
- Quote (Ariane Campo Flores, 08:15): "The criticism is that it is a recipe for racial profiling...to actually further this deportation agenda."
- Resource Diversion: Concerns are raised that police are pulled away from traditional duties (traffic, public safety) to focus on immigration tasks.
- Training Questions: ICE claims oversight is robust, but critics question if a week’s training is enough for complex duties.
6. Ride-Along: On-the-Ground Operation
- Multi-Agency Tasking: Briefing included 10 troopers, supervisors, helicopter, ICE, and Border Patrol. Focus was on “saturation” patrols in areas with high presumed numbers of undocumented immigrants.
- Quote (Sergeant Tony Kingery, 11:34): “Look for those vehicles that could possibly have a large amount of illegals in that vehicle. Stop those cars.”
- Strategy: Troopers were told to make “good traffic stops” (for bona fide violations) but with an eye toward possible immigration detentions.
- Process: ICE agents on the scene could quickly check names in federal databases (13:00).
7. The White Van: Human Stories
- Driver’s Situation: The 28-year-old Guatemalan driver had past convictions and an open immigration case. He pleaded emotionally for a chance to call his child, became visibly distraught, and eventually retched from anxiety.
- Quote (Ariane Campo Flores, 14:12): “He repeatedly said in Spanish, I have a baby son at home. Please let me call home...He at one point crouched down and just started retching.”
- Passenger’s Plea: The 18-year-old passenger insisted he was a student, denied being in the country illegally, and asked officers not to start deportation; both men were loaded into a trooper’s pickup truck with zip ties.
8. An Unexpected Twist: The Escape
- Break for Freedom: En route to Border Patrol, both detainees escaped after troopers failed to engage child locks. A helicopter assisted in a search, but both men disappeared.
- Quote (Ariane Campo Flores, 15:29): “The child locks were not engaged on the back doors, and so they bolted out of the car...That then initiates, essentially, a manhunt...”
9. Counting the Cost, Measuring Success
- Operation Results: 23 people detained that day (not counting the escapees). The Highway Patrol’s executive director summed it up: “You win some, you lose some.” (16:19)
- Resource Allocation: Ariane raises questions about whether this dual mission is sustainable for law enforcement; supporters argue increased arrests show effectiveness.
- Stats: Florida’s Highway Patrol has over 3,500 apprehensions related to immigration (17:27).
- National Implications: The Trump administration hopes to train 20,000 officers nationwide in ICE duties. Florida’s model could become the template for other states.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “Are you a U.S. Citizen?” – Sergeant Tony Kingery, using the authority given by 287(g) (02:04)
- “The criticism is that it is a recipe for racial profiling, that it encourages officers to use the pretext of a traffic stop to actually further this deportation agenda.” – Ariane Campo Flores (08:15)
- “The child locks were not engaged on the back doors, and so they bolted out of the car...That then initiates, essentially, a manhunt for these two individuals who had escaped.” – Ariane Campo Flores (15:29)
- “You win some, you lose some.” – Florida Highway Patrol executive director, summing up operation results (16:19)
- “If there are jurisdictions and there are states that decide that this is a policy that they want to pursue, they can look at Florida as a potential model of how to go about doing that.” – Ariane Campo Flores (18:10)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:33 – 02:00: Ariane's ride-along and escalation of a traffic stop
- 04:21 – 06:05: Background and expansion of the 287(g) program
- 07:19 – 08:42: Florida’s leadership and civil liberties concerns
- 11:06 – 13:45: Live operation: saturation patrol, multiple detentions
- 13:46 – 14:56: Human cost: the driver and passenger's emotional pleas
- 15:13 – 16:07: The detainees' escape and ensuing manhunt
- 16:52 – 18:10: Implications for law enforcement and the expansion of 287(g)
Episode Takeaways
- Florida is the central test case for the blending of local police work and federal immigration enforcement, with significant investments and a rapidly expanding program.
- The 287(g) task force model allows for traffic stops to potentially lead to deportation—a process with high stakes and, at times, painful human drama.
- Critics worry about racial profiling, resource allocation, and the broader social consequences of merging local policing with federal immigration enforcement.
- The mass deputization of officers could create lasting changes in American law enforcement and immigration policy, with Florida serving as a model for other states to follow—or resist.
This episode provides an in-depth, on-the-ground look at a controversial law enforcement trend, raising fundamental questions about the priorities, impacts, and ethics of blending police work with immigration control.