Florida state lawmakers passed their own version of a bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration, setting up a showdown with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who labeled the legislation “weak.”
The bill was announced earlier this week after House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton, both Republicans, rejected DeSantis’s special session and immigration proposals in favor of their own special session and legislation. The legislation would allow the state to better cooperate with federal government deportation efforts, according to its supporters, but would also take immigration enforcement authority away from the governor and instead vest it in the state’s agriculture secretary.
The measure passed in the state House, 82-30, but it fell short of a veto-proof majority in the state Senate, 21-16, with five Republicans and all Democrats voting against the legislation.
“Florida Republicans sent a clear message – our nation is moving on from the Biden-era broken border policies that prioritized criminals over cops and moving forward with a new Trump-era of ending catch and release and replacing it with catch and deport,” Perez said Tuesday evening in a post on X.
DeSantis teased a veto of the legislation in a social media post Wednesday, blasting the bill as weakening immigration enforcement in the state and possibly setting up a veto override attempt by the legislature. He also pushed his own immigration legislation proposal as a contrast to the one developed by the legislature.
We must have the strongest law in the nation on immigration enforcement. We cannot be weak.
That’s what the people expect and what the people have voted for in recent elections, culminating in the mandate earned by President Trump to enact the largest deportation program in… pic.twitter.com/1SNgwQ5iZH
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 29, 2025
“The bill that narrowly passed the Florida legislature last night fails to honor our promises to voters, fails to meet the moment, and would actually weaken state immigration enforcement,” DeSantis said in a post on X. “The removal of illegal aliens residing in our state requires strong legislation that will guarantee state and local deportation assistance, end catch and release, eliminate magnets such as remittances, and adopt supporting policies that will protect Floridians from the scourge of illegal immigration. The veto pen is ready.”
The feud between the state legislature and the governor is a rare instance during DeSantis’s tenure when the two are not in agreement. Since he took office in 2019, they have had few problems, the only high-profile one coming when the legislature developed new House district lines in 2021.
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DeSantis, who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection in 2026, may be seeing waning influence over the legislative body after his unsuccessful presidential run last year.
The state legislative leaders claim they are seeking to further President Donald Trump’s interest, but the governor, who challenged Trump for the GOP nomination but has since made good with the president, has also claimed to have engaged with the White House on his proposals. Trump endorsed DeSantis’s call for a special session but has not weighed in on the current battle in the Sunshine State.