Florida News That Impacts You – February 12th, 2025
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you throughout the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast.
- Florida’s legislature will convene another special session today to consider newly proposed legislation aimed at combating illegal immigration and assisting the Trump administration with deportations. The legislation for today’s session is a compromise between Governor DeSantis’s proposal and the so-called Trump Act proposed by the legislature that DeSantis vetoed. The key change in the legislation is that a newly created State Board of Immigration Enforcement will be established with oversight by the entire Florida Cabinet which consists of the governor, agriculture commissioner, attorney general and chief financial officer. DeSantis’s original proposal called for direct reporting to the governor for the position while the legislature’s proposal would have moved all immigration enforcement to the agriculture commissioner.
- Two illegal immigrants from Guatemala were arrested and charged with human trafficking and sexual battery for operating a brothel out of an apartment in Lake Worth Beach. PBSO responded to a call from a desperate woman who was forced into sex trafficking at gun point by the suspect. Investigators found two women in the apartment that had been brought to Palm Beach County under the false pretense of legitimate work and were forced into sex trafficking upon arriving. One of the suspects was arrested for similar charges in 2023, along with his mother, however, was released after ICE, under the Biden administration, didn’t issue a detainer to take custody of the suspect. ICE immediately issued detainers for the two suspects who’ll be deported after having completed their time in the legal system.
- Former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner has been unanimously selected to become FAU’s next president. The decision by the State Board of Governors comes following a multi-year vacancy for the post following the resignation of the University’s previous president in 2022. Hasner indicated that one of his goals for the school is to grow national recognition.
- Sunny skies and warm today with highs near 80 – warmer than usual for this date. Similar but still warmer weather is expected until Friday when showers are expected to move through our area.
- Gas prices fell 3 cents per gallon on Monday. The average price for regular unleaded in Florida is currently $3.13 per gallon. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.27 per gallon, in Martin the average is $3.11 and in Indian River County the average is $3.12 per gallon.