MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Florida leads the nation in ICE cooperation agreements with local police. These agreements give local law enforcement the power to enforce certain federal immigration laws. And in one Florida county, trust is wearing thin among immigrants who fear being deported. NPR's Jaclyn Diaz visited Walton County, Florida, to learn more.
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: On a muggy day in mid-July, 36-year-old Alfonso is getting ready for another afternoon under the hot sun. He's pulling tools from the back of his boss' truck. He's preparing to lay lumber to frame the first of three houses being built on a grassy lot in DeFuniak Springs, Florida.
(SOUNDBITE OF ELECTRIC TOOL WHIRRING)
DIAZ: Alfonso requested NPR use only his first name because he's undocumented. He's been in the country for four years.
ALFONSO: (Speaking Spanish).
DIAZ: He says he wants to keep working here, but he's scared. Here in Walton County, local law enforcement has partnered with ICE. Last year, the sheriff's office signed what's known as a 287(g) agreement. It allows police to arrest undocumented immigrants among other things. Since then, Alfonso changed his routine. He doesn't go to church or the beach, which used to be his favorite places to go. His 22-year-old undocumented cousin, Ronaldo, is also working on this construction site. He's lived here for seven years.
RONALDO: (Speaking Spanish).
DIAZ: Ronaldo also asked NPR to use just his first name out of fear of being deported.
(SOUNDBITE OF LUMBER CLATTERING)
RONALDO: (Speaking Spanish).
DIAZ: "This country feels like jail," he says. The Trump administration has made the 287(g) program a key part of its mass deportation effort. Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson says he's on board, but his priority is not on immigration enforcement.
MICHAEL ADKINSON: We're not doing immigration sweeps 'cause, quite frankly, we have day jobs here. We have other things that are critically important to the local people here that they expect to be done.
DIAZ: But he is clear. If someone commits a crime and they are undocumented, his office will bring those people in and will inform ICE. County Commissioner Danny Glidewell says residents back the sheriff's cooperation with ICE. Voters in this area are overwhelmingly Republican. So he says...
DANNY GLIDEWELL: Most people want immigration enforced. If you ask them, do they want illegal immigrants, they'll tell you no.
DIAZ: But Walton County is growing. It has a housing shortage, Glidewell says, and industries like construction and tourism rely on undocumented workers.
A few miles away from his office is the DeFuniak Springs Library. It's Florida's oldest library, built in 1887. The library's branch manager, Barbara Hughes, says she's aware of the 287(g) program, and she's seen more immigrants coming into the library.
BARBARA HUGHES: We've seen an influx of notary services being needed by the immigrant community for character references for their immigration paperwork.
DIAZ: The library has also been handing out Spanish and English know your rights cards, which have been popular. They include steps on what to do if ICE comes knocking or stops you on the road.
Back at the construction site in DeFuniak Springs, Ronaldo says he feels stuck.
RONALDO: (Speaking Spanish).
DIAZ: "At the end of the day, we are not free here," he says. He thinks about returning home, but opportunities are limited there.
RONALDO: (Speaking Spanish).
DIAZ: Ronaldo says it's out of his hands, and if he gets deported, it's God's will.
RONALDO: (Speaking Spanish).
(SOUNDBITE OF ELECTRIC TOOL WHIRRING)
DIAZ: But he says he still has goals here. He's saving money to one day buy house in Central America.
Jaclyn Diaz, NPR News in Walton County, Florida.
KELLY: And that story was co-reported and produced by NPR's Marisa Peñaloza.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERMANOS GUTIERREZ'S "BLOOD MILK MOON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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