Governor DeSantis and Florida Legislature Mend Fences; Enact Strong Immigration Enforcement Legislation
On February 13, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law two immigration bills, SB 2C and SB 4C, that will help President Donald Trump enforce our immigration laws. Governor DeSantis says the immigration package places the state “ahead of the curve on ending the illegal immigration crisis.”
The enactment of this package comes after a month-long standoff between the Governor and the legislature. In January, Governor DeSantis called the legislature into special session to pass immigration legislation and presented legislators with a long list of measures he hoped to see enacted. The leaders of the Forida House and Senate (both Republicans) had different ideas, however. They immediately adjourned the special session called by the Governor, called a second special session, and passed their own immigration legislation, called the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act.
While DeSantis criticized the TRUMP Act for being weak on several fronts, one of the major disagreements between the legislature and Governor DeSantis was determining who would oversee immigration enforcement within the state. In the TRUMP Act, the legislature created a new Office of Immigration Enforcement to manage immigration enforcement but placed the Office within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. That gave exclusive control to the Commissioner of Agriculture, which traditionally has not been favorable to immigration enforcement.
DeSantis criticized the move as putting the “fox in charge of the hen house.” “Nobody elected the commissioner of agriculture to do the immigration stuff,” DeSantis said. “I got elected by a massive margin. One of the main issues I ran on was curtailing illegal immigration, so to strip it from the governor (and give that authority to the) commissioner of agriculture is ridiculous.”
DeSantis then vowed to veto the TRUMP Act, which forced the Florida Legislature to the negotiating table.
After trading barbs for a month, Governor DeSantis and the legislature reached an agreement. SB 2C creates the State Board of Immigration Enforcement within the Department of Law Enforcement. This State Board will be composed of the Governor and Cabinet. In addition to creating the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, SB 2C:
- Creates a grant program for local law enforcement officers to be reimbursed for cooperating and coordinating with federal immigration officials.
- Repeals Florida’s in-state tuition law.
- Renders “dangerous unauthorized alien offenders” ineligible for sentencing under normal sentencing guidelines and ineligible for any type of early release.
- Creates a felony crime for illegal aliens who willfully vote in any election, or on any person that aids or solicits an illegal alien to vote.
- Requires the Attorney General to sue local officials to ensure compliance with immigration detainers and imposes a fine of up to $5,000 for violations that are knowing or willful.
- Requires immigration status to be considered by the court when determining whether to release a criminal defendant on bail.
While SB 2C contains many provisions Governor DeSantis requested, the Governor also had to make some concessions. For example, when he first called the special session, Governor DeSantis urged the legislature to include $350 million in the legislation for the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program to relocate illegal aliens out of the state. In SB-2C, however, the legislature reined in the program. Now, in order to transport illegal aliens out of the state, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must specifically request state assistance to transport aliens and it must be performed under ICE’s control and supervision. Finally, ICE must reimburse the state for the costs of transportation.
Governor De Santis, however, gained several “wins” through the passage of SB 4C. One of the law’s central provisions, missing from the TRUMP Act, makes illegal immigration a state crime in Florida. A first violation is punishable with a mandatory imprisonment of nine months. A sentence for a second violation is imprisonment for one year and one day. Subsequent offenses are punishable with a minimum of a two-year imprisonment. The law, however, provides aliens with certain defenses to prosecution. These include a grant of lawful presence by the federal government, eligibility for relief under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, or establishing that the alien’s conduct does not violate the federal statute prohibiting illegal entry by aliens (8 USC 1325).
Another provision in SB 4C, included in the original TRUMP Act, makes the death penalty mandatory for illegal aliens convicted of a capital felony.
Predictably, the Florida ACLU opposed the immigration package. Bacardi Jackson, Executive Director said, “Florida politicians would rather engage in fearmongering and pass proposals that will cause people to be unnecessarily deprived of their liberty, separated from family, and subjected to abusive detention conditions.” He continued, “No government should advance an extreme political agenda over the well-being of Floridians.”
While Florida’s newly enacted immigration laws include most of what Governor DeSantis wanted, they do not address remittances, expand the state’s E-Verify law, or give the Governor the power to deport illegal aliens out of the country.
AUTHOR
Shari Rendall
Shari Rendall brings over 15 years of experience in government relations and grassroots advocacy to FAIR. In her former position, Shari led the legislation department, coordinating lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill and briefing congressional and administration staff on various issues. She has also been responsible for grassroots communications and helping state associations devise legislative strategies. Shari began her time in D.C. working on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Aide.
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“dangerous unatuhorized alien offenders” is not defined anywhere in the act – begs the question what about non-dangerous unauthorized alien offenders which would describe all illegal aliiens who violated immigration law and have not committed any dangerous crimes either in their home countries or in US since coming here. Also nothing addressed in article about EVerify not being used.
Amount of 1-time budget costs almost doubled to over $600 M and $13 M annually thereafter. Creats another huge bureaucracy.
Only lobyists present in Talle during Bill discussion were Leftist goups like the ACLU.
Forgot to mention that there is no menton of deportation in new law. Some of these shortcomings were addressed in last para of article e.g. ” While Florida ’s newly enacted immigration laws include most of what Governor DeSantis wanted, they do not address remittances, expand the state’s E-Verify law, or give the Governor the power to deport illegal aliens out of the country.”
We are also very suspicious as to the eventual effectiveness of the State Board of Enforcement especially since one of the Cabinet Members can veto a decision by the others e.g. think Ag Commissioner Wilton Simpson who is on the board and has conflict of interests. What will happen when local law enforcement run out of grant money to help ICE with enforcement?