TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing state lawmakers to convene a special session to implement President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policies, particularly his promises for a swift crackdown. However, DeSantis is encountering resistance from Republican leaders in the state legislature. These lawmakers, while supportive of Trump’s presidency, believe that calling a special session at this time would be “premature” and “irresponsible.” They are hesitant to take immediate action on such a significant issue without further planning or alignment with the new administration’s agenda.
President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to launch an aggressive campaign on Day One of his administration, planning more than 100 executive orders aimed at tightening border security, ramping up deportations, and addressing various other policy priorities. While Trump has promised mass deportations, there are still significant questions about how his administration will handle the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
In Florida, DeSantis is moving forward with plans to convene a special session of the state legislature during the week of January 27, following Trump’s inauguration. The goal is to have state lawmakers ready to swiftly enact policies in line with Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“State and local officials in Florida must help the Trump administration enforce our nation’s immigration laws,” DeSantis said. “In order to do that effectively, we are going to need legislation to impose additional duties on local officials and provide funding for those local officials.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has warned that he is prepared to suspend elected officials from office if they fail to comply with new immigration mandates under his administration. DeSantis, who has previously removed several officials, including two state attorneys for not prosecuting certain crimes, emphasized that he will hold public officials accountable for neglecting their duties in enforcing immigration policies.
Additionally, DeSantis outlined plans to allocate tens of millions of dollars in new funding to support state and local efforts in expanding immigration enforcement and detention operations. He also indicated he might activate the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard to assist with in-state enforcement measures, ensuring that local authorities have the resources they need to carry out the new immigration mandates effectively.
“There also needs to be measures to hold people accountable who are violating our anti-sanctuary policies,” he said. “Florida needs to make sure that we don’t have any lingering incentives for people to come into our state illegally.”
In a strongly-worded joint statement released Monday afternoon, Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Danny Perez expressed their concerns about the proposed special session, stating that without clear guidance from the incoming Trump administration and with only “fragments of ideas” from Governor DeSantis, it is premature for lawmakers to convene.
“It is completely irresponsible to get out ahead of any announcements President Trump will make, especially when uninformed or ill-timed state action could potentially impair or impede the success of President Trump’s forthcoming efforts to end illegal immigration,” the Republican leaders said.
