The fight over who has the authority to curb illegal immigration in Florida resulted in a third special session in less than a month Tuesday as the Florida Legislature convened in Tallahassee.
In a compromise and power-sharing agreement with Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had threatened to veto the TRUMP Act passed by the Legislature on Jan. 28, lawmakers proposed creating a State Board of Immigration Enforcement. The board would consist of the governor, commissioner of agriculture, attorney general, and the state’s chief financial officer. All decisions of the board would be required to be unanimous.
Under the previously passed TRUMP Act, enforcement would have fallen under the purview of a newly created Office of State Immigration Enforcement run by the commissioner of agriculture, who would have been designated the state’s Chief Immigration Officer.
In addition, under the legislation proposed Tuesday, the newly created State Immigration Enforcement Council would be composed of eight members made up of county sheriffs, police chiefs and Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials appointed by the Senate President, House Speaker, commissioner of agriculture, governor, attorney general, and chief financial officer. The council would advise the State Board of Immigration Enforcement on the work of local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law, recommend strategies to increase the number of available detention beds, facilitate training of local law enforcement in the enforcement of federal immigration law, and provide other coordination with the Trump administration.
Gov. DeSantis last week announced the deployment of the Florida Highway Patrol to assist federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in arresting immigrants who are suspected of being in the state illegally.
What the proposed legislation keeps from the bill passed Jan. 28 is $1,000 bonuses to county and local law enforcement officers who participate in federal immigration raids and appropriates $250 million to recruit and hire additional law enforcement officers and support staff to beef up enforcement of federal immigration law. The Florida Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies in Florida face a critical hiring shortage.
Other measures include denying bail and requiring pretrial detention for immigrants in the country illegally who are accused of felonies and making it a state-level crime to enter or reenter Florida illegally. The bill also keeps the original language ending in-state tuition waivers for about 6,500 college and university students in Florida brought to the U.S. illegally as children – known as “Dreamers.’’
The revised bills were put forward by Republican Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota and Rep. Lawrence McClure of Dover.
In a statement ahead of the special session, DeSantis said, “The proposed legislation requires the full participation of state and local law enforcement with the federal government in its enforcement of immigration law, prevents the ‘catch and release’ of illegal aliens, and ensures that illegal aliens who enter Florida are held accountable. It also provides significant resources to bolster these efforts.’’
In the two weeks since the TRUMP Act passed, DeSantis has been on a tour around the state calling it “weak,’’ “ridiculous’’ and “swampy’’ and threatened to veto it. He was particularly angry that the measure stripped him of enforcement authority over immigration and gave it to Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson.
Under the threat of a veto that did not have the votes to override in the Senate, the Legislature’s leadership never sent the bill to the governor’s desk and have worked with him since to forge a compromise.
In a joint statement Tuesday, House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton said, “Combining important feedback received from Governor DeSantis and Commissioner Simpson with the very strong legislation passed during Special Session B, we are building on the technical assistance from the White House to advance and implement strong policies and provide critical resources to support President Trump’s efforts to combat illegal immigration efficiently and effectively.’’
