On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reportedly urged Republican state lawmakers to move quickly on illegal immigration, voting to take a “junkyard dog” stance and threatening political repercussions for disobedience.
DeSantis cautioned that would be an expensive error. “It would be very, very hazardous politically,” he told reporters at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office during a roundtable discussion. In the event that GOP leaders do not act, he also threatened to call for another special session of the legislature.
According to DeSantis, Republicans should pass legislation requiring state and local officials to follow the new White House immigration orders and funding them to do so.
“I have my constitutional authority to wield in this process and I will continue to wield it as appropriate so that we’re able to get the job done,” DeSantis said.
Additionally, he has advocated for legislation that would punish municipal and state officials who break Florida’s anti-sanctuary policies, according to WPTV.
The governor also instructed lawmakers to address growing HOA dues, tighten down on ballot initiative signature forgery, and look into more hurricane help.
When the governor called for a special legislative session to begin on January 27, Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez responded calmly.
In a joint statement on January 13, they criticized DeSantis, saying the governor had only provided “fragmented ideas” and had not released any bill language or details for lawmakers to consider. They also called it irresponsible for the legislature to take action before any announcements Trump may make on immigration.
Already, Trump has launched a flurry of executive orders starting the promised “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants already present in the United States.
Declared an emergency at the southern border on Monday, Trump sent 1,500 troops there and stopped the Biden administration’s CBP One app program to handle migrants at ports of entry via humanitarian parole.
Following this, his government started a large deportation campaign with ICE agents operating in several states and cities all throughout the United States.
[READ MORE: Pentagon Moves to Deploy Thousands of Troops to the Southern Border]
