A.G. Gancarski
While legislators were hashing out bills Friday, Ron DeSantis was on Fox News opining about national Democrats and their visits to Central America on behalf of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia.
Garcia, a controversial convict at the Center for Terrorism and Confinement (CECOT) on the American taxpayer dime, has seen attention from certain Democrats over an alleged lack of due process for the questionably legal expatriation that is intended to set precedent for more to come from the Donald Trump administration. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland was successful in getting access to the accused gang member; others, including Rep. Maxwell Frost, were not.
“He has a lot of defenders who apparently didn’t know a lot of the details when they started jumping on his bandwagon,” DeSantis told host Martha MacCallum, alluding to disputed claims that Garcia is a member of MS-13.
The Governor then questioned their priorities further.
“I think it’s bizarre that you see these Democrat politicians making a pilgrimage down there, you know, to sit there with this guy, because I never have seen those Democrat politicians meet with angel moms who’ve lost kids because of illegal alien crime. I’ve never seen them show any sympathy for American citizens whose lives have been upended because of the open border policies when Joe Biden was President. And so it’s just odd that they’re so interested in somebody who came to the country illegally, who obviously has a very checkered background, but they don’t seem to show that same zeal in defending their own American constituents.”
DeSantis has been outspoken in saying deportation is not a “punishment,” but a simple rectification of undocumented immigrants’ illegal status.
He has also floated National Guard members serving as immigration judges, citing a lesser criteria for that adjudication than normal trials.
And he has offered Florida resources for deportation flights to El Salvador or GTMO, though as of yet he hasn’t volunteered Air DeSantis for potential expatriations to Libya or Rwanda.
8 comments
MH/Duuuval
May 3, 2025 at 9:54 am
Dee has also floated National Guard members serving as immigration judges, citing a lesser criteria for that adjudication than normal trials.
I nominate lame-duck COJ Council member Rory Diamond to be the chief judge. Please, get him out of Duval!
MaggieC
May 3, 2025 at 7:56 pm
FLPolitics: Abrego Garcia may be controversial, but only because Trump and his ICE goons made him controversial through their full-on fascist tactics and denial of due process. Abrego Garcia is not a convict. He was kidnapped. and the lack of due process is not alleged; it is a solid fact.
Michael K
May 4, 2025 at 9:23 am
Our governor has a history of abusing his power to limit basic rights. He seems incapable of seeing or understanding the fundamental Constitutional guarantee of due process under our rule of law. Due process for everyone. Everyone. So much for his elitist Ivy League education.
Without it, innocent people can be “disappeared” forever.
Faux Pope Tramp
May 4, 2025 at 9:43 am
We would appreciate a Governor who concentrates on Florida’s many problems instead of flapping his gums spreading divisive politics. He still thinks he’s relevant in the presidential race and acts accordingly. Heck, the Legislature didn’t even pass a budget on time, in part, due to his failure of leadership.
MH/Duuuval
May 4, 2025 at 6:27 pm
Bottom line: Dee has the line-item veto. How the Governor of Florida came to be the Final Word in state budget affairs continues to bemuse me.
SuzyQ
May 5, 2025 at 8:08 am
The governors in most other states have the line-item veto. Of the 50 U.S. states, only 6 do not. Does that also amuse you, or are you easily amused?
MH/Duuuval
May 5, 2025 at 1:57 pm
What is important here is that, so far, POTUS can’t do line-time venues. That makes me very happy, but also nervous since DJT is salivating for this power. That, and the reality that folks like Suzy Q favor having an executive with line-item power, which totally unbalances the relationship between legislative and executive branches.
Right, Q?
MH/Duuuval
May 5, 2025 at 1:58 pm
BTW, Q: Look up bemuse, which is not a synonym of amuse.
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