(NewsNation) — At least four major Florida universities are planning to or are already partnering with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement through an agreement initiated by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
University police departments are signing up for ICE training and receiving the same powers to enforce immigration laws as local cops through what’s called the 287(g) agreement.
The agreement allows campus police to assist with immigration enforcement efforts and potentially speed up deportations.
While the governor’s directive doesn’t call campus police out by name, it makes one thing clear: law enforcement agencies, including those tied to campuses, are expected to fall in line.
The University of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida and Florida Atlantic University are already or soon will be participating, according to multiple reports.
Once trained, officers can get the green light to make immigration-related arrests — but this is not instant.
Most departments are still waiting on ICE approval or for their officers to be certified. There have not yet been any immigration arrests made on campus grounds under the agreement.
DeSantis has floated legislation that would penalize agencies that do not comply.
The news comes as the Trump administration targets international students at colleges nationwide for deportation, such as pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate student.
International students are seeing their visas revoked for minor infractions like traffic violations, while colleges are checking immigration databases to find out whether their students are still allowed to be in the country.
Exactly how many visas have been revoked is unknown because the State Department has declined requests to share numbers.
An Inside Higher Ed tracker lists more than 80 colleges and universities affected by the visa revocations, including public and private institutions in a wide range of locations and sizes.
NewsNation partner The Hill‘s Lexi Lonas Cochran contributed to this report.