TALLAHASSEE—As Gov. Ron DeSantis accuses the GOP Legislature of touting a "toothless" immigration bill, House Speaker Danny Perez, a Republican leading the pushback on the governor, argues that DeSantis's proposals are weaker than the Legislature's.
Perez's comments to The Floridian come amid a deepening divide within Florida Republicans over the TRUMP Act, an anti-illegal immigration bill that replaced 10 DeSantis-backed bills killed by the Legislature. Turning the tables on DeSantis, who has spent the past week shredding lawmakers for backing the "weak" bill, Perez claimed that the TRUMP Act is actually tougher than DeSantis's proposals.
"There was his proposal, and there was our legislation. Our legislation gives the death penalty to any illegal immigrant that commits murder or rapes children. His does not," Perez said in a sit-down interview with publisher Javier Manjarres. "I would say that our bill is tougher on crime."
He noted that while both he and DeSantis want to "solve the crisis" of illegal immigration, and he can "compartmentalize personal feelings from reality," Perez said he can't see the governor's point of view if he believes the TRUMP Act to be weak.
"To say that my bill is weak, that the House's bill is weak, that the bill that every single Republican except one voted for—is weak? I respectfully have to disagree," continued Perez, the new Speaker from Miami, referring to DeSantis ally Rep. Mike Caruso being the only "no" vote in the state House.
Perez and DeSantis have traded insults on social media since the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migrant Policy (TRUMP) Act passed late Tuesday night, as each accused the other of misleading the public on their respective proposals. Perez argued that he would not "be bullied" by the governor, while DeSantis publicly wondered if the bill would intentionally sabotage anti-illegal immigration efforts.
The dramatic infighting was sparked by a joint memo issued by Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton on Jan. 13 condemning the governor's call for a special session. They called it "premature" and "irresponsible," and ultimately escalated tensions by adjourning DeSantis's special session just 15 minutes after it started. The move killed all DeSantis-crafted bills, setting the stage for the Legislature to kick off their own session starring the TRUMP Act.
Unlike DeSantis's bills, the 84-page TRUMP Act imposes mandatory death sentences for illegal immigrants who commit murder or child rape, creates an incentive program for law enforcement to help with immigration efforts, 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.
The TRUMP Act passed the Senate in a 21-16 vote and the House in an 82-30 vote Tuesday night. It has yet to be sent to the governor, but DeSantis has vowed to veto it as soon as he gets it. The Legislature would need 27 Senators and 80 Representatives to override the veto if they hope for the bill to become law.
