Immigration Bill Passes Amid DeSantis Objections

TALLAHASSEE — Saying they are trying to help President Donald Trump crack down on illegal immigration, Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature late Tuesday passed a plan that includes boosting criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants, ending in-state tuition rates for undocumented-immigrant students and creating a state “chief immigration officer.”

The bill, which passed in a special legislative session, also would lead to spending about $500 million, with much of the money going to local law-enforcement agencies, and would require the death penalty for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes such as first-degree murder.

The final 84-page version emerged after two days of conflict between Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis about what should pass. Republicans on both sides of the dispute tried to tie themselves to Trump — with the final version of the bill titled the “Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act.”

House bill sponsor Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, said lawmakers needed to address an illegal immigration “crisis.”

“We have to take action. We have to do something, and we are going to get the crisis under control in this state,” McClure said moments before the House gave final passage to the bill.

The Senate voted 21-16 to approve the bill, while the House passed it 82-30. Attention quickly turned to whether DeSantis would veto the bill, after lawmakers rejected his proposed immigration changes.

As lawmakers debated the measure, DeSantis criticized the bill during an interview on Fox News.

“It’s a weak bill, but they named it the Trump Act. So they think by putting the name of a strong president on a weak bill, that somehow that is going to pull the wool over the eyes,” DeSantis told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.

He added, “We’ve got to be strong. We cannot let these guys squish out on this issue.”

But House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, fired back, saying lawmakers had passed “the most-conservative, the most-aggressive and the most-effective immigration bill in the country.”

“Of course, you’re going to have your handful of politicians, a small group of activists and a lot of paid bots on social media trying to gaslight you,” Perez told the House. “But we know that truth matters, and simply saying that something is terrible over and over doesn’t actually make it true. Threatening others to get your way isn’t leadership, it’s immaturity.”

Sen. Tom Wright, R-New Smyrna Beach, was among lawmakers who expected DeSantis to veto the measure.

“We’ll be back again,” Wright said when asked if he expected DeSantis to call another special session. “We’re just beginning.”

Six Senate Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the bill (SB 2-B). They were Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island; Sen. Alexis Calatayud, R-Miami; Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa; Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach; Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill; and Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers. Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, was the only Republican who voted against the bill in the House.

Democrats focused on issues such as part of the bill that would repeal a 2014 law that allows undocumented-immigrant students to pay cheaper in-state tuition rates at Florida colleges and universities if they meet certain criteria. Democrats said many of those students — commonly known as “dreamers” — have lived in Florida most of their lives and went through the school system.

“Education is not a privilege. It’s a right,” said Rep. Marie Woodson, a Hollywood Democrat who was born in Haiti. “Let’s empower dreamers to realize their full potential.”

But Sen. Randy Fine, R-Brevard County, said the 2014 law allows undocumented immigrants to pay lower tuition than people who live in other states and attend Florida colleges and universities.

“We don’t believe illegal immigrants should pay less to go to colleges and universities than Americans,” Fine said.

DeSantis on Jan. 13 called a special session to address immigration and a series of other issues. But he hadn’t reached an agreement with Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, and they quickly objected to the session.

In a rare rebuke to DeSantis, the House and Senate convened the DeSantis-called special session Monday morning, adjourned and then opened their own special session. They effectively rejected DeSantis’ immigration proposal and immediately started moving forward with a legislative plan. They made a series of changes to the plan before passing it Tuesday.

Senate sponsor Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, and other supporters of the bill said it focuses on targeting undocumented immigrants who are criminals and that it would carry out executive orders Trump signed after his inauguration last week.

“With this bill, Florida answers the call,” House Majority Leader Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, said. “We will do our part.”

Among other things, the bill would toughen criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes. That includes requiring people designated as “dangerous unauthorized alien” offenders to serve full prison sentences without the possibility of early release.

A heavily debated change Tuesday would require death sentences for undocumented immigrants who commit capital crimes, such as first-degree murder and sexual battery on a child under age 12. Democrats repeatedly questioned the constitutionality of such a requirement, pointing to legal precedents about the role of juries in deciding whether defendants face the death penalty.

The bill also would make changes aimed at increasing cooperation of local law-enforcement agencies with federal immigration-enforcement efforts. One part would offer $1,000 bonuses to local law-enforcement officers who participate in federal “at-large task force operations.”

Democrats, however, raised concerns that the bill could lead to immigration-enforcement efforts in places such as schools and churches.

One part of the bill that drew attention would create an Office of Immigration Enforcement within the state Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services and make Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson the state’s chief immigration officer. DeSantis objected to giving Simpson authority over immigration issues.

Caruso and Ingoglia filed a series of bills Sunday that would have helped carry out DeSantis’ immigration proposal. Caruso on Tuesday called the legislative plan a “facade,” while Ingoglia also questioned it.

“When I read this piece of legislation — nobody’s telling me to say this — I just do not think that this is going to the heart of the problem and I think it’s going to create more problems,” Ingoglia said.

But Gruters said it would help Trump’s immigration-enforcement efforts.

“Yes, it’s not the end-all solution,” Gruters said. “I think that this is a good policy for the state of Florida, and at the end of the day, go back to our president, Donald J. Trump. His main focus is immigration. His main focus is to try to do this right. And what we have in this bill, we’ve created not the perfect plan but … a very good plan for the state of Florida to follow.”

— News Service senior writer Dara Kam contributed to this report.