Florida Gov. DeSantis set to sign compromise bill on immigration enforcement

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis was poised to sign into law sweeping immigration enforcement legislation Thursday — the result of negotiations with the Florida Legislature — to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order asking states to help round up and detain undocumented immigrants.

After weeks of squabbling on social media, DeSantis, Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Danny Perez, all Republicans, came together to pass what they called the most aggressive immigration legislation in the nation.

The Legislature approved the three-bill package Thursday afternoon along party lines, with Democrats voting against it.

Thursday’s actions mark the end of the third special session since January and a month of political grandstanding over who had the most aggressive approach to helping Trump achieve his goal of deporting millions of violent criminals who were in the country illegally.

Despite accusations that the Legislature’s initial proposal was weak and that DeSantis wanted to be the “deporter in chief,” Florida’s GOP leaders made a public effort to patch up their differences, complimenting one another for their cooperation.

“This … is about maximum collaboration and coordination with the Trump administration,” Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, sponsor of the three bills considered this week. “We have a president who is laser focused, and a governor and cabinet who are laser focused on this side. We are going to go into hyper speed on this issue.”

Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo of North Miami noted that almost none of the compromise bills include language from the legislation DeSantis had backed.

“The majority of that content is nowhere … No $1.74 million to enforce e-verify, no mention of the word deportation, no prohibition on money remittance,” Pizzo said, referring to DeSantis’ initial proposal to make it tougher on employers who hired undocumented workers, allow the state to deport people and prohibit undocumented residents of sending money to their home country.

“There is rampant catch and release going on here,” he said of the main piece of legislation. “Fast forward to today and you have a bill that doesn’t do a lot.”

The Legislature and governor agreed on a compromise package that retains much of the language approved by lawmakers two weeks ago that DeSantis had threatened to veto. It includes revoking out-of-state tuition waivers for “Dreamers” — college students brought to the United States as children — and making death sentences mandatory for undocumented immigrants who are convicted of murder or the rape of a child.

Democrats have strenuously objected to both of those issues.

At one point, even before the special session, legislative leaders had talked about grandfathering in currently enrolled undocumented students who receive the waiver, said Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando. But that provision did not materialize.

“This is literally the least we can do for these Dreamers who have worked so hard to get here,” Smith said as he tried, unsuccessfully, to convince senators to allow currently enrolled students to keep paying in-state tuition until they graduate.

“The punishment we are inflicting on the young Dreamers brought to us by their parents … is cruel,” Smith said.

About 6,500 students currently enrolled in state colleges or universities use the waivers so they can pay in-state tuition rather than more expensive out-of-state rates.

Republican Senators Alexis Calatayud and Ileana Garcia, both of Miami, voted for the main immigration bill even though they both opposed repealing the tuition waiver.

“This focus on the Dreamers is petty,” Garcia said. “President Trump is not going to deport any Dreamers. He is committed to fixing their situation and coming up with a path to citizenship for dreamers.”

The out-of-state tuition waiver for undocumented students will end on July 1, and students who currently receive such waivers will be reevaluated for eligibility.

Democrats also said the mandatory death penalty language violates the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court rulings that said the death penalty is not allowed in rape cases. Garcia was the sole Republican to vote against that measure.

House Democrats tried unsuccessfully to amend the main bill to grant Venezuelans who escaped a socialist regime the same protections as Cuban exiles when they escaped Castro.

One of the biggest concessions of the new plan requires DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson to share immigration enforcement authority with the two other members of the Cabinet — the state’s attorney general and chief financial officer. Lawmakers initially wanted to put the agriculture commissioner in charge of those efforts.

The legislation also adds some items DeSantis wanted, such as making it a state crime to enter or reenter Florida as an undocumented immigrant and requiring local law enforcement agencies to assist with the federal immigration investigations.

It would require that judges be given information about a defendant’s immigration status — information that could be used to deny bail — but it does not, as DeSantis had wanted, create a presumption of flight risk to automatically deny bail to any undocumented person who is arrested on a criminal charge.

Pizzo said he was pleased the legislation eliminated the state’s Unauthorized Alien Transport Program – which has already spent at least $22 million flying 49 Venezuelan refugees from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts and busing dozens more to Sacramento, California.

The legislation also requires the state to report to the Legislature how many vacant beds are available in correctional institutions and county detention facilities that can be sublet to federal immigration authorities.

But there is no money allocated to address the need for additional beds or corrections officers. Pizzo reminded his colleagues that the Florida National Guard continues to fill in at state prisons because of the shortage of corrections officers.

The legislation also requests $299 million in the current budget for grants to reimburse expenses or provide $1,000 bonuses to law enforcement officers involved in Homeland Security task force operations. That includes funding for 89 new immigration enforcement positions.

Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Delray Beach, said Florida should not pay for immigration work.

“Our federal tax dollars go to immigration enforcement,” Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Delray Beach, said. “The state money appropriated for this is double-dipping. We are paying twice.”

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