Ron DeSantis threatens to veto bill, slams Republicans for being weak on immigration

Ron DeSantis opines about the Florida Gators.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he plans to veto the immigration bill, lambasting Republicans for being weak on immigration and trying to rob the Governor of the power to crack down on the issue.

“This is a pass-fail exercise. Either you’re doing what needs to be done or you’re not,” DeSantis said Wednesday, hours after the Legislature passed Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy Act known as the “TRUMP Act. “What they did last night is not going to pass muster.”

DeSantis accused Republicans of breaking campaign promises to close borders and intentionally refusing to increase mass deportations, which makes Florida a “de facto sanctuary state.”

Ahead of the Special Session and Tuesday’s bill passage, Republicans stood up against DeSantis as he pressured lawmakers to return to Tallahassee. Republican leaders gaveled in and out and then began their own Special Session and pushed their own immigration bill.

“They just rammed this through. They didn’t want to do it. They showed up on Monday. The members didn’t know what the hell was going on. They unveiled this thing. They think if they put Trump’s name on it, that somehow that’s going to pull the wool over people’s eyes,” DeSantis said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Republicans defended the Trump Act, arguing it would strengthen criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants and beef up law enforcement agencies with $500 million from the general fund.

“This bill is the strongest piece of legislation to fight against the mass illegal immigration this country is facing that any state will have passed. It’s not weak. It’s bold. It’s strong,” said Rep. Lawrence McClure, who sponsored the House version of the bill, before Tuesday night’s final vote. 

The Senate passed the Trump Act 21-16, well short of the two-thirds majority to override a veto. The House passed it 82-30.

Democrats opposing the bill voiced concerns about the provision that strips in-state tuition waivers from undocumented students, known as Dreamers, who are studying at Florida’s colleges and universities. The minority party pleaded with Republicans to eliminate the tuition reference in the bill.

At Wednesday’s press conference, DeSantis insisted the bill weakens the state’s effort to deport undocumented immigrants and does not do enough to implement mass deportations.

“How many of these guys ran and asked for your vote and said they were going to kneecap the state’s ability to combat illegal immigration? Not one of them did that, and yet, that’s what they voted on yesterday,” DeSantis said. “What the Legislature did was provide a lot of window dressing. They provided a lot of money to house illegal aliens.”

One significant source of contention for DeSantis was the bill’s intent to make Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson the new chief immigration officer in charge of coordinating with the federal government.

DeSantis argued his office should have the authority to lead that position — not the Agriculture Commissioner.

“We’ve got great people. We make good decisions. We get the job done for people. So if you’re really serious about immigration enforcement, man, you would want to empower us to do the job,” DeSantis said. “But instead, they’re taking it away.”