Gov. Ron DeSantis used the power of his bully pulpit on Thursday to once again lean on the Florida Legislature to come together for a special legislative session next week to further restrict illegal immigration, vowing to fight like a “junkyard dog” that just won’t stop until he sees results.
“These issues — the immigration and election integrity — I’m not letting go,” he said in addressing reporters during a roundtable discussion at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. “I’m not just going to wait six months for something to eventually stick.”
The governor has said repeatedly over the past couple of weeks that the Legislature must not wait until the regular session opens in March to address the newly implemented executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on reducing the number of the undocumented in Florida.
That’s despite an initial response from Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez that the initiatives would be “premature” and could wait another month.
Although the special session is scheduled to begin Monday, neither Albritton nor Perez has yet to release a schedule of how the week will proceed. DeSantis said Thursday it would be politically “hazardous” for lawmakers to come in and then immediately gavel out without working on any of the changes he is calling for.
“They haven’t said anything,” DeSantis told reporters when asked if he had heard back from the legislative leaders.
“I can tell you the members privately are telling us that they want to get to work — the rank-and-file members. I don’t think that the idea that you would go in and gavel out is sustainable because people would have to go on the record saying that they think that they should gavel out, ignore us. So that would be very, very hazardous, I think, politically for these members to do,” he added. “And I have my constitutional authority to wield in this process and I will continue to wield it as appropriate so that we’re able to get the job done.”
By that measure, the roundtable with a group of officials was an advertisement directed at those lawmakers about why they need to pass legislative reforms next week.
‘Not an issue of humanitarian policy’
“Illegal immigration is not an issue of humanitarian public policy,” said Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles executive director Dave Kerner.
“We understand that it is merely a weapon, an extension of the cartel industrial complex. When someone is here illegally, whether their intent is to assist the cartels or not, they are complicit in it because every dollar, when you talk about remittances, every dollar that is made in the United States and sent to Mexico or other areas where cartels operate, a portion of that is going to fund the operations of the narco-cartels. That’s just a fact.”
Kerner went on to say that the leaders of those drug cartels were paying attention.
“If you think that they’re not watching what’s going on in Florida and how the Legislature is either punting or not going after these cartels, because that’s really what we’re talking about — they are watching that.”
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said the number of undocumented immigrants who came through his jail escalated each year during the Biden administration — 121 in 2021; 280 in 2022; 287 in 2023; and 334 in 2024.
Push back
Groups such as Florida Immigration Coalition (FLIC) and TheDream.US are gearing up to push back next week against the governor’s proposals to empower state and local law enforcement to carry out deportations and eliminate in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants who grew up in Florida.
“We agree that federal immigration policy needs to be addressed. We agree that it’s not good for our whole entire country to have individuals who don’t have status, but we also agree that something needs to be done. This is not it,” TheDream.US President Gaby Pacheco said.
She referred to Republican state Sen. Randy Fine’s proposals to get rid of in-state tuition for students without legal status who attended Florida high schools and to prevent them from enrolling in universities with acceptance rates lower than 85%.
Pacheco’s organization serves as a college and career success program for undocumented immigrant students. In 2023, she brought several students who benefitted from a 2014 state law granting in-state tuition to share their stories at the Capitol as DeSantis unsuccessfully pushed lawmakers to get rid of the program.
An important part of the groups’ advocacy at the state Capitol is sharing personal stories from immigrants, but FLIC’s executive director Tessa Petit told the Florida Phoenix in a phone interview that the group is concerned about bringing undocumented folks to provide public testimony.
“I mean, at this point, people are going to be afraid, right?” she said. “Even ourselves as advocacy groups who used to bring even undocumented folks to the Capitol to come and advocate to these legislators, we will definitely be very hesitant to put their lives at risk, to put their futures at risk.”
DeSantis concluded his press event on Thursday by saying that “there are certain times where you just have to step up and do the right thing.”
–Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
Tom Hutson says
Illegal Immigration (1456)
Sorry Lil Baby Mussolini, your efforts to grandstand King Trump is not going to get you a job. From the news headlines it appears the Reds in the Senate are going to hold their nose and back up to the polling booth to cast that embarrassing vote for your position and elect the worst candidate in history for that position.
That’s just too bad they’re trying to wheel you out of the State of Florida, just keep trying.
Al says
Your false compassion for illegals is amazing. If the illegals are removed let’s look at the benefits.
1) lower food prices as there won’t be people with government handouts trying to buy the same food as your family.
2) lower car insurance because a lot of uninsured vehicles will be off the road.
3) higher wages as companies won’t have access to workers that are paid cash at lower rates than the minimum.
4) lower crime rates in some areas where there are high concentrations of unemployed illegals.
5) If you’re a renter there will be more available housing at a lower cost because here again no government funding of the illegals competing for space.
6) more available classroom space for Florida students at all levels of schooling and especially no reduced rates for illegals.
Now what part of the word illegal do you not understand. These people have basically said we don’t give a crap about your rules we just do what we want. My family were immigrants but they followed the rules and became citizens. All the children learned English as their first language and education was a top priority.
Tired of it says
Reading your comment explains wjy trump loces the uneducated. Jist wait until there is no one to pick the crops and see what it does to food prices. By the way, it has already started. Below are some actual facts, from sources other than FAUX . You really should do some research before posting.
1.As of 2022, unauthorized immigrants represented 3.3% of the total U.S. population. Hardly enough to impact food prices.
2. The states with the lowest po[ulations of illegas have the highrest rates of uninsured drivers. Check your facts or lack thereof. ” Mississippi had the highest uninsured motorist population in 2019 at 29.4%, followed by Michigan (25.5%), Tennessee (23.7%), New Mexico (21.8%), and Washington state (21.7%). New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York had the lowest percentages of uninsured drivers, at 3.1%, 3.5%, and 4.1%, respectively”.
3. Yes, companies will have to pay higher wages because no Americans will work for the low wages and lack of benefits illegals work for. It will certianly impact their profitability and some will go under.
4. Study after study supports this conclusion. Check your facts. Immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than the U.S.-bornm Study finds over a 150-year period, immigrants have never been incarcerated at a greater rate than those born in the United States
5. The goverment doesn’t provide funds for rental living spaces for immigrants. There is no such funding. It has been done on a temporary basis when immigrants have been dump, overnight on somse Staes. Again support your sttement with facts.
6. There is no funding for educations for illegals. Yes, they do attend public schools but they are a minmal percent of students. Do the math. 2.3 as a percent of the toal is .046 %
“Of students in immigrant households in 2021, 83 percent were born in the United States.
In 2021, 3.2 million of public school students from immigrant households were from households headed by an illegal immigrant.
WASHINGTON (December 5, 2024) — Prekindergarten through 12th-grade public school enrollment in the 50 states and the District of Columbia reached 49.5 million students for the fall of 2023, according to new data released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Jim says
I hope the legislature comes in and ignores DeSantis. The federal government is in charge of immigration laws and it’s enforcement. The states are not in charge. So, Florida should let the feds run the show. And when state and local police support what’s happening, the Feds should pay the bills, including locations where all these terrible people are held until we ship them back where they came from! And we should all be happy to pay our taxes to cover these expenses!!!
DeSantis thinks he’s an all-powerful king (just like dear leader) and everyone must bow before him. It will be nice to see the legislature buck that trend – if they do it. DeSantis wants a complete police state and he’s banking on the legislature to give him the tools to do it. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
And, for anyone who doesn’t recognize sarcasm when they see it, I hardly think all immigrants are “terrible people”. But MAGA has to have enemies and, right now, immigrants are all murderers, rapist and thieves and they’ve all got to go!
This country (and this state) are on a reckless course. We will be lucky to have any allies in the world soon. And, it’s really going to be interesting when Trump finally gets the border completely shut down and no one is trying to come here. The effect on our economy will be ever bit as wonderful as our standing in the world! MAGA, baby!
Stephen says
Are illegal immigrants criminals. All they have to do is attack the White House an d Trump will pardon. Especially if they attack the police. I have never seen a Republican president be against the police. I thought they were the party of law and order. I guess that has changed.Why would Floridians listen to a loser govenor. They do not like him in Florida. Just ask MAGA.