(The Center Square) – An immigration enforcement bill passed by Florida lawmakers Tuesday is headed for the veto pen of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
And if no lawmakers change their votes, the Legislature will not be able to override the second-term Republican. DeSantis said his veto pen is ready, Florida will "become a de facto sanctuary state" based upon the legislation, and lawmakers have betrayed voters.
The governor had two roundtables on Wednesday.
DeSantis said the legislation is half a step forward and five steps back, a weak bill that would kneecap existing immigration control efforts with the Florida Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies.
"I'm not looking for credit. I'm looking forward to getting the job done," DeSantis said. "I want them to come up with strong proposals and they receive 100% of the credit. But we are not going to be weak and we will not wilt when it comes to this issue. Now we have the momentum, the president has put out the road map with strong executive orders."
One of the key concerns DeSantis has with the bill, Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy or TRUMP Act, is that it doesn't end "catch and release" of undocumented migrants. He also said it takes away immigration enforcement powers from the governor.
The TRUMP Act is sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, in the upper chamber and Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, in the lower.
The bill would designate the agriculture commissioner – Wilton Simpson, a Republican, was elected to a four-year term in November 2022 – as chief immigration officer as the central liaison between federal, state and local officials.
"Agriculture has always been a magnet industry for illegal alien labor, it's cheap labor, but that doesn't mean every farm in Florida is doing that," DeSantis said. "There is a conflict there, because you're going to have constituencies that are not necessarily going to want to have immigration enforcement so it's a dumb idea just for that purpose.
"They don't have the resources, so none of our agencies can even discuss immigration with these federal groups unless the ag commissioner approves. The reason why you bar state agencies from communicating with ICE and Border Patrol is because you don't want to see more deportations. It's a feature for them, not a bug."
It also would appropriate $500 million for law enforcement agencies participating in Trump's deportations of undocumented migrants.
Senate Bill 2-B passed 82-30 in the House with two Republicans and 28 Democrats voting against it. In the Senate, the bill was approved 21-16, with four Republicans joining 12 Democrats in opposition.