Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday appointed a new executive director of the State Board of Immigration. Anthony Coker, who has been the state’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Liaison, was tapped to replace Larry Keefe, who has served as the executive director of the state board since its inception.
Lawmakers created the board, which is made up of DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Wilton Simpson, and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, as part of a special legislative session on immigration in February.
“I first want to thank our outgoing Executive Director Larry Keefe for what he's done to get everything up and running to make sure that Florida leads the way in immigration enforcement,” DeSantis said during a meeting of the board on Tuesday. “Larry has done a number of things in our administration over the years, and he has performed at a very high level with honor and integrity,” DeSantis added.
Coker has served as the state’s liaison with ICE since June.
Prior to heading the state immigration board, Keefe, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida, has worked as DeSantis’ public safety “czar,” where he helped orchestrate controversial flights of migrants from Texas to Massachusetts in 2022. The state board coordinates immigration enforcement and doles out $250 million in grants to local law enforcement agencies to assist federal efforts.