A Florida Republican filed a bill Tuesday that would fine law enforcement agencies for not partnering with ICE and allowing families whose loved ones were killed by a noncitizen to sue certain local governments.
HB 229, filed by Seminole state Rep. Berny Jacques, would use the new $10,000 fine for out-of-compliance law enforcement to compensate the aggrieved families. It’s the largest proposed change so far to Florida immigration laws ahead of the 2026 session.
“Florida stands against lawlessness,” Jacques — who’s also sponsoring legislation to require all employers to verify new hires’ immigration status — said in a press release. “We will stand with law-abiding citizens first and ensure that those who break our laws are held accountable.”
The four-page bill builds off a sweeping law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February. That law, which removed in-state tuition for undocumented college students and created state-level immigration crimes, requires county law enforcement to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in so-called 287(g) agreements.
Although cities are not required to enter into these agreements, the state has argued that they can’t purposely cancel the partnerships once they’ve been enacted. This would constitute active defiance of Florida’s mandate that cities use their “best efforts” to combat illegal immigration, Florida officials say.
HB 229 provides new penalties for noncompliance. Law enforcement agencies refusing to work with ICE would be fined $10,000 by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. FDLE would use that money to compensate families whose loved ones were killed by noncitizens, as long as the crime was committed on or after July 1, 2026, and the family fills out a form with FDLE.
Similarly, these families would be able to sue out-of-compliance police or a local government if it has a sanctuary policy protecting undocumented immigrants — although these are already illegal in Florida — and if its negligence paved the way for the Floridian’s death.
Jacques’ bill is named the “Shane Jones Act” after a man who was killed in a traffic accident by an immigrant illegally in the country. He left behind two children and his wife, Nikki Jones, has since appeared alongside DeSantis in press events to call for stronger state-level immigration laws.
“For too long, American families have been left to pick up the pieces after their loved ones were taken from them by crimes that could have been prevented,” Jones said in Jacques’ press release. “The Shane Jones Act represents a turning point — finally holding local governments accountable when they fail to enforce immigration laws.”
Other immigration-related bills filed ahead of the 2026 legislative session include Jacques’ bill expanding the E-Verify system to all private employers, and Sen. Don Gaetz’s bill to prevent undocumented immigrants from driving commercial vehicles.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
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