Florida Senator Blaise Ingoglia, the sponsor of eight anti-illegal immigration bills crafted by Gov. Ron DeSantis and killed by GOP leaders, worries the Legislature's TRUMP Act leaves the door open for "abuse" of the immigration system.
Ingoglia, a DeSantis ally and rumored appointee to Chief Financial Officer, referred to a sweeping, 84-page anti-illegal immigration bill, the TRUMP Act, which replaced his bills. In an exclusive interview with The Floridian, Ingoglia claimed that the Legislature's bill would hurt immigration enforcement rather than help it.
"There's just too many loopholes. There's too many opportunities for people to abuse this system," he told publisher Javier Manjarres. "At the end of the day, everyone needs to sit down...and ask the question: what is best for Florida? What is best for the United States?"
"Once you put the bills side by side, and you objectively ask yourself, what does each bill do? There's only one answer, and that's the governor's proposals," Ingoglia continued. "The bills that we filed were much, much stronger."
Though both proposals target illegal immigration, the TRUMP Act imposes a mandatory death sentence for illegal immigrants who commit capital crimes, creates an incentive program for law enforcement to help crack down on illegal immigration, and crowns Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson Chief Immigration Officer.
It does not include criminal penalties for non-compliant law enforcement, delineate specifics on the illegality of undocumented immigrants voting, or ban unauthorized immigrants from sending or receiving money abroad, as DeSantis's bills had provided for.
Ingoglia was one of just seven Republicans to vote against the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migrant Policy (TRUMP) Act, which was pushed by House Speaker Danny Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton, both of whom have publicly criticized DeSantis in a rare show of party infighting.
Since the TRUMP Act passed Tuesday, both Republican sects have accused the other of pushing weaker legislation harmful to President Donald Trump's agenda. DeSantis called it "toothless" and "grotesque," alleging the Legislature may be intentionally sabotaging efforts to enforce immigration policy, while Perez and Albritton have argued that the governor is "lying" and has refused to communicate with them.
Tensions erupted after the legislative leaders staged something of a revolt against DeSantis earlier this week, adjourning his special session 15 minutes after it began, killing his bills, and immediately calling in their own special session starring the TRUMP Act. Since then, lawmakers like Ingoglia and Rep. Mike Caruso—who filed the House versions of DeSantis's bills—have been among the few vocal Republican opponents of the Legislature's bill.
Hailing from Spring Hill, Ingoglia has been a staunch opponent of illegal immigration. He sponsored one of the most stringent anti-illegal immigration measures in the country in 2023, requiring certain hospitals to collect and report the costs of healthcare for unauthorized immigrants, suspending the licenses of employers knowingly hiring illegal workers, and imposing hefty sentences on human smugglers bringing illegal immigrants into Florida.
