Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the GOP are at odds over immigration dealings. DeSantis has stood firmly on his stance on immigration, often seeming to be in alignment with Trump’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants, but this has come with some confusion for Floridians.
Last week, DeSantis called for a special legislative session on immigration and condo relief. In this session, he proposed several strict measures, CBS News states that some of his policies include, “broadening the legal definition of gang-related activities to include dangerous criminal groups and increase penalties for undocumented migrants who commit voter fraud or provide false voter registration information.”
However, Florida lawmakers largely disregarded many of DeSantis’ proposals. Instead, they introduced their own bill, titled the “Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act”- this legislation, passed within minutes, significantly shifts authority away from DeSantis by transferring key immigration enforcement powers to the State Agricultural Commissioner.
Tallahassee Democrat states that the bill will also create an additional council specifically dedicated to immigration, “The bill would establish the agriculture commissioner as the state’s chief immigration officer and create a State Immigration Enforcement Council, a board of seven county sheriffs tasked with providing recommendations to the state and to the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.”
Some serious enhancements have been made since the bill passed. Some, which include mandatory death penalty for any illegal immigrant of a capital offense. Sentencing enhancement for illegal immigrant gang members and $25 million in funds approved for financial law Enforcement incentives towards aiding ICE raids. These enhancements of the bill come from Ben Albritton, Senate President and Daniel Perez, Senate Speaker.
DeSantis responded swiftly on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing, “The bill that narrowly passed the Florida legislature last night fails to honor our promises to voters, fails to meet the moment, and would weaken state immigration enforcement… The veto pen is ready.”
Andrew Holston Jr, a South Florida Deputy officer and Republican, shared his views on the matter.
“Most of these federal agents are not law enforcement officers; ICE can only serve administrative warrants, which does not grant access to the house.” Holston said. “The Governor does not have sway over the police. I do not think anything will change in my opinion. I’m a citizen of this country and as a former military man, I believe in following orders but there is an exception to that morally and legally. I won’t participate.”
Some of the proposals included “Law Enforcement Compliance,” which mandates maximum participation in the deportation program and appoints a dedicated officer to oversee coordination with federal officials.
As the debate continues, it remains to be seen how this power struggle between DeSantis and his own party will impact Florida’s approach to immigration enforcement.