On Monday, Jan. 27, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a special session in Tallahassee to discuss various proposals regarding immigration laws and policies following President Donald Trump‘s official inauguration.
During this meeting, he proposed giving local law enforcement officials the right to behave as immigration agents. This would mean local officials would be given the power to perform some of the duties of federal immigration officers, including arresting undocumented immigrants, searching vessels, and taking evidence.
Among these proposals, one would require counties and cities to participate in federal deportation. This means that DeSantis would have the authority to suspend any official who does not comply. He also wants citizens to provide identification and their citizenship status before sending anything back to their home country.
The Florida House and Senate ended the meeting quickly. According to CBS News, Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez and Republican Senate President Ben Albritton claimed the meeting was “premature.”
Still, Florida lawmakers planned to revamp immigration laws by immediately calling for their own meeting to introduce the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy Act, or TRUMP act.
According to the Florida Senate, the TRUMP Act would ultimately designate the office of Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson as the state’s chief immigration officer. This would undermine Gov. DeSantis’ plan to grant officials state-level immigration enforcement, one of his main initiatives.
DeSantis expressed his disapproval of this act and repeatedly called it “weak.” He posted on X saying, “We must have the strongest law in the nation on immigration enforcement. We cannot be weak.”
The bill passed 21-16 but needed 27 votes to surpass a veto from the Florida Governor. So, DeSantis has the choice of signing the bill into law, vetoing, or failing to sign, ultimately leading to the bill becoming law. But, he pledged to veto the bill as soon as possible. That statement was made on Wednesday, Jan. 29, and has yet to hit his desk.
Even though DeSantis has made his intentions of vetoing the bill clear, it is important to understand what it would mean if the TRUMP act is signed into law.
According to the American Immigration Council, one in every five Floridians is an immigrant, making up 22.1% of the state’s population and 26.6% of its workforce as of 2022. Because of this, Florida would require every level of government to cooperate with this act.
The bill states that a $100 million grant will be set aside for local law enforcement to put toward training, equipment, and reimbursement to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for detention facilities. It also promises a $1000 bonus for each official who cooperates with the federal government regarding immigration.
Many Floridians have also reported spotting officers from the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Â looking for immigrants charged or convicted with crimes over the past few weeks.
Another major factor of this bill is its consequences on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, established in 2012 by the Obama administration. These “Dreamers” are Florida students brought to the U.S. as children illegally and who are currently granted in-state tuition to public colleges and universities. Therefore, being a lifeline for many young students trying to continue their educational careers and future.
As of now, Floridians will have to wait for DeSantis to decide within the upcoming weeks.
“It’s not just the president that made it; Republicans have been running against open borders for years and years and years,” DeSantis said at the press conference on Jan. 31. “This is really the last shot. I think if we don’t do it now to the fullest extent, then it’s just not going to get done.”