DeSantis to Veto 'Weak' Legislative Immigration Bill: Here are our Suggestions
What a week it has been in the Florida Legislature. Florida GOP lawmakers appear to have revolted against Gov. Ron DeSantis over illegal immigration reform.
The pushback against Gov. DeSantis was downright ugly, but was it worth it?
Yes, there is a lot of pent-up frustration with the Governor by the majority of the Republican lawmakers in the state legislature, but was the fight they picked over illegal immigration the right move?
Probably not.
President Donald Trump has an unequivocal mandate. American voters elected him into office to stop illegal immigration, so why couldn't DeSantis and GOP leadership come together (hug it out) before the recently concluded special session and hammer out a deal?
Speaker Danny Perez contends that DeSantis just doesn't communicate with them, and he has a point.
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No less than 12 Republican lawmakers told The Floridian this week that DeSantis never reaches out to them, and if a rare phone to them does come in from the executive office, it is from a staffer.
The Governor's office contends they have reached out to Speaker Perez, but he has not returned their call.
Several of DeSantis's closest allies in the state legislature (we will not name them) agree that the Governor is not the most embracing or friendly guy when dealing with lawmakers in Tallahassee or even those in the U.S. Congress.
They add that DeSantis just isn't built that way.
So now what?
Yep, the bill is going to get vetoed.
Will DeSantis call for another special session to deal with illegal immigration?
Will President Trump have to weigh in and dictate to both sides what needs to happen?
Both DeSantis and Perez have called each other's proposal and bill "weak" and lay out their respective arguments.
Here are some non-starter points that need to be addressed:
—In-state tuition for illegal immigrants needs to be halted.
—Until the federal government gets its act together, state law enforcement should be deputized to deport illegal immigrants
—Somehow keep illegal aliens from sending cash back home
—Governor DeSantis should be the one enforcing any immigration measure, not Wilton Simpson, Florida's Agriculture Commissioner.
(Whose dumb idea was it to tap Simpson to lead the charge?)
—One person should be tapped to be the Immigration Czar for Florida who will solely focus on working with federal agencies without also having to juggle oranges and grapefruits.
These are the main points of contention.
If lawmakers and DeSantis agree on legislation to deport illegal aliens from Florida, I promise you that illegal immigration will all but halt down here.
Is there a chance DeSantis just goes along with the bill? READ MORE
Ron DeSantis-Happy to send flights from Florida down that way with deportees in tow….
Squishing out on illegal immigration — when we have unique momentum for robust enforcement and mass removal of illegal aliens — is the worst vote I’ve ever seen members of the Legislature take.
Just a complete abandonment of the voters who sent them there in the first place on the most salient issue of the day.
Daniel Perez-Governor DeSantis isn’t being honest with Floridians about the TRUMP Act.
The Governor’s proposal leaves out large portions of what the Trump Administration wants to get the job done and end the national scourge of broken borders.
Facts matter and the facts are clear: the TRUMP Act puts the President in full control, armed with all the tools needed to execute the most aggressive illegal immigration crackdown in our nation’s history.
The TRUMP Act delivers the harshest penalties in the nation for illegal aliens, criminal gangs, and terrorists - including an automatic death sentence for capital offense like murder and the rape of a child.
The Governor doesn’t support these harsh penalties - the TRUMP Act makes criminal illegals pay the price.
Ben Albritton-NOT TRUE. The TRUMP Act requires FDLE to coordinate with the Chief Immigration Officer - a Cabinet Official - on immigration enforcement.
Under the Governor's Bill, the "State Immigration Enforcement Coordinator" would be an unelected bureaucrat at DEM.

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Juice is squeezed by Javier Manjarres, Liv Caputo, and Daniel Molina
