By The News Service of Florida
Florida’s state of emergency due to illegal immigration remains in effect. Gov. Ron DeSantis last week extended the executive order declaring the emergency he first issued in January 2023.
The declaration has enabled him to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in three years on immigration enforcement efforts – normally the purview of the federal government.
Under state law, a state of emergency issued by a governor only lasts for 60 days, and must be extended to stay in effect.
In 2022 the Legislature set up an emergency trust fund to pay for declared emergencies, but Democrats were angered when DeSantis used the fund to pay for “emergencies” that weren’t the result of a natural disaster, such as immigration enforcement.
The fund expired in February, and lawmakers passed a bill this year to resurrect it and extend it until July 1, 2028, but the measure (SB 7040) hasn’t been sent to DeSantis’ desk yet.
Money from the fund has been used to pay for Alligator Alcatraz, the detention center in south Florida, and other detention centers. DeSantis has said the federal government will reimburse the state for $608 million but the state hasn’t received the funds.
Be the first to leave a comment on this article.