Republican lawmakers who oppose Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and do not pass comprehensive illegal immigration and ballot initiative legislation during next week’s planned special session risk political consequences, the governor reportedly said Thursday.
DeSantis urges Congress to move swiftly, citing President Donald Trump’s inauguration and his immigration executive orders as justifications.
There are currently no indications that the GOP-controlled Legislature would do anything during the five-day session, despite the governor’s request for lawmakers to return to town.
In recent days, DeSantis has publicly questioned lawmakers’ hesitancy, particularly during an appearance on Fox News this week.
Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez resisted, arguing that lawmakers should not address undocumented immigration and other matters so soon before the March regular session.
DeSantis has maintained that the special session is in accordance with the desires of the Trump administration and state voters to alter immigration laws both locally and nationally.
The governor’s most recent remarks were not answered by Albritton or Perez spokespeople. Schedules for the extraordinary session have not been made public by the state House or Senate, nor have they announced that they are taking bills.
DeSantis has supported a number of important initiatives, such as requiring “maximum participation” from law enforcement in the deportation of unauthorized immigrants and suspending municipal politicians who do not participate.
Additionally, he seeks to extend a migrant transport program that DeSantis utilized to transport people from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, create criminal sanctions for “illegal entry” into the state, and designate a state immigration enforcement officer to work with federal authorities.
Rather than sending migrants to neighboring states, the governor would like to be allowed to export them from Florida to other nations.
A law that permits children of undocumented migrants to pay the same tuition as residents is another rule that DeSantis seeks to overturn.
During her time as a state legislator, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez sponsored that measure.
According to the governor, rank-and-file members have informally expressed their willingness to collaborate on these recommendations during the special session.
Trump has commended DeSantis in public and urged other governors to do the same.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Pushes Lawmakers to Finally Take Action on Illegal Immigrants]
