Florida’s Feud is Real but Governor DeSantis is Right – Top 3 Takeaways – January 29th, 2025
- The feud is real. In case you wondered if the tension between perhaps the most popular governor in the country, our Governor Ron DeSantis, and the super majority GOP controlled legislature is real... The answer is yes. As you’ll recall just over two weeks ago when Governor DeSantis called for a special session aimed primarily at assisting the Trump administration with the facilitation of the detention and deportations of illegal immigrants, Republican leaders in the state house and senate called it “premature” saying that there was no need. They said that whatever would be addressed in the special session could be addressed in the state’s scheduled legislative session set to begin just five weeks later in March. Maybe you agreed with DeSantis’s extra sense of urgency in having the state do everything as quickly as it could as it could to assist the Trump administration. Maybe, like the legislature, you thought it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if they were to wait. The pushback from the legislature was notable however, because to date, in the six years of DeSantis’s administration, never once did we see or hear such a public rebuke of his agenda. But while there was a bit of expressed frustration, there wasn’t any real clear indication of significant tension until Monday when the state legislature reported for the governor’s special session, as was required under law, but immediately dismissed his special session to call their own which was their prerogative. When the legislature killed the first special session, it also killed the 22 bills that had been proposed within it as well. All of the House bills had been sponsored and filed by Palm Beach County Republican Mike Caruso with the mission of Governor DeSantis in mind. In the special session called by the legislature, there were only two bills that were filed. The House version by Plant City Republican Lawrence McClure and the senate version by Joe Gruters...what they framed as the so-called Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy or Trump Act. In response, this is what Governor DeSantis had to say about the newly proposed act: (It) Fails to put an enforceable duty on state & local law enforcement to fully cooperate on illegal immigration enforcement. This means that Florida localities will provide no meaningful assistance to federal efforts. In response, Republican leaders Albritton and Perez issued a joint statement calling DeSantis’s comments a “blatant lie”. As they went on to say... This is a blatant lie about the Florida law enforcement officers who are on the front lines protecting our communities from criminal illegal immigrants each and every day. Law enforcement is our partner, not our enemy. It’s no wonder the Governor’s proposal included criminal penalties for law enforcement. His statement clearly suggests he doesn’t trust the boots on the ground, but we do. Well that certainly raises the stakes. Those basically sound like fighting words. Would you even know that this exchange is taking place among the leaders within our state’s Republican Party? I don’t think Albritton or Perez have ever been so pointed in their critiques of Democrats previously. But as always there are two sides to stories and one side to facts.
- So, what are the facts? The fact of the matter is that if your actual goal is to most effectively combat illegal immigration, Governor DeSantis isn’t 98% or 99% percent right. He’s 100% right about this issue. In spending time with the 87-page Immigration bill being considered in the legislature’s special session there are three big keys that stood out to me. 1) The legislation would make the state’s agriculture commissioner the state’s “immigration officer” with an established Office of State Immigration Enforcement. This stands as a contrast to Governor DeSantis’s call for this position and office to be under the governor’s direction. 2) The law would move enforcement of the state’s E-Verify law from the Department of Commerce to the newly established Immigration Enforcement office under the Ag Commish. 3) This bill does not mandate participation of local law enforcement in ICE’s 287(g) program. This also stands in contrast to the governor’s proposal. What’s the distinction and why do they matter? Starting with who the “immigration officer” is and who they’re accountable to... What industry is most associated with illegal immigration in this state? Is it not the agriculture industry? Now, who do you think is more likely to enforce immigration law. Someone who works under Governor DeSantis (and future governors) or someone who is in the agriculture industry (Wilton Simpson) and presides over that industry? How influenced might that person be by special interests in the ag industry that like status quo illegal immigration? On the second point – why would we be moving the state’s existing E-Verify oversight from the Commerce Department to the Ag Department? Sure, the proponents will say that’s where they’re stashing the Immigration office as well. But for the reasons I just mentioned – if anything this move risks weakening Florida’s existing Immigration law by the under-the-radar move. Remember, many in the legislature including Florida’s current Ag Commissioner Wilton Simpson resisted real E-Verify enforcement for years until it was finally based in 2022.
- This move wreaks of taking a step back to where the state used to be on the issue. And on the third matter two weeks ago you may recall that I brought you this on ICE’s 287(g) program. Here’s a refresh from what I brought you at the time: The 287(g) Program enhances the safety and security of our nation’s communities by allowing ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and remove incarcerated criminal noncitizens who are amenable to removal from the U.S. before they are released into the community. How does it work? Through two program models. The Jail Enforcement Model is designed to identify and process removable noncitizens — with criminal or pending criminal charges — who are arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies. The Warrant Service Officer program allows ICE to train, certify and authorize state and local law enforcement officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on noncitizens in their agency’s jail. How effective is it? The most recent report available is from the 2022-2023 year. The 287(g) program was responsible for the processing of 8,442 illegal immigrants from 141 countries of which 6,894 were criminal illegal immigrants. Included in the mix were 39 illegal immigrants who’d committed homicide and 78 rapists. And as for who is participating? There are 48 fully participating law enforcement agencies within Florida as of now. That includes the Florida Department of Corrections and most sheriff’s offices across the state including Broward, Martin and Indian River County. Among the agencies that aren’t fully participating... Four of the five largest sheriff's offices in Florida. Those four agencies are... Hillsborough, Miami Dade, Orange and Palm Beach. Although, ICE lists Hillsborough, Miami-Dade and Orange as having 287g Program Applications... So, the bottom line is this. There are two sides to stories and one side to facts. The facts are squarely on DeSantis’s side. Albritton and Perez are counting on you being uniformed. Another way of that...they’re full of crap.