DESTIN, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke Friday at an airport in Destin, where he continued railing against an illegal-immigration bill proposed by the state Legislature that he has vowed to veto.
Ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, DeSantis implored state lawmakers to seize a “golden opportunity” and follow his pledge to the yet-incoming administration that it would have a partner in every level of Florida’s law enforcement regarding Trump’s sought-after mass deportation of illegal immigrants from the U.S.
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The governor called a special session on immigration, yet lawmakers earlier this week quickly gaveled out of it and started their own, during which they pushed through the 80-plus page Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act that DeSantis lambasted as “too weak.”
One of DeSantis’ main issues with the bill has appeared to be its proposal that immigration authority be handed to the state’s agriculture commissioner as opposed to him.
“In the bill, they prohibit our state agencies and your local agencies from even talking to ICE without the the approval of the commissioner of agriculture,” DeSantis said. “So if you want to have — Panhandle, your police departments, your sheriff’s departments — if they’re working to bust like some illegal alien gang, they wouldn’t be able to turn them over to ICE unless the commissioner of agriculture gave them approval. Who the hell do they think they are? To say they need a ‘mother may I?’ from the commissioner of freaking agriculture?”
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Going a step further, DeSantis on Friday addressed lawmakers still behind the bill, accusing them of appealing to special interests that purportedly benefit from the presence of illegal immigrants in Florida.
“The reason they did it, it’s not because they’re dumb, they knew by doing that they would stymie enforcement against illegal immigration. They don’t want to remove illegal aliens from this state, OK? Some of them want cheap labor for some of these businesses interests,” DeSantis said. “(...) If you actually read their bill, their objective is not our objective. Our objective is to help with the deportation of illegal aliens. Theirs is to shield a lot of illegal aliens who are working here, under the table.”
The governor urged Floridians to talk to their representatives and convince them to stop supporting the TRUMP Act.
“You guys have a role, you reach out and talk to your folks, you let them know, you know, what you think. Do not take any talking points, make them explain why they made the choices that they did, why did they not do some of the things that they did,” DeSantis said. “(...) You have your marching orders. Who here is going to call or email their House or Senate member? You guys are going to do it, very respectfully. Be nice, because these are these are good folks. Be nice. Be very respectful, but be very clear about what your expectations are.”
Watch the news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.
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