Republican Sen. Joe Gruters (left), Senate President Ben Albritton (center), and Republican Sen. Randy Fine (right) hold a press conference on Feb. 11, 2025, to discuss the third special session dealing with unauthorized immigration. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix)
Florida Speaker of the House Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton gaveled in the third special session of the Legislature this winter on Tuesday, intending to craft a bill further cracking down on illegal immigration.
This time, they are expected to agree with Gov. Ron DeSantis on a final product by the end of the week.
The governor and the GOP legislative leaders commenced a bitter faceoff last month after the House and Senate jettisoned the governor’s immigration proposals and passed their own, which DeSantis lambasted as “weak” and promised to veto when it came to his desk.
The compromise
However, both sides began working in recent weeks on a compromise. Still, Perez began his remarks before his chamber on Tuesday noting how legislative Republicans had staked their independence.
Florida Legislature pushes through immigration bill over DeSantis’ objections
“We asserted our right, as the elected representatives of the people, to have an equal seat at the table,” he said.
“To be a participant in a conversation, rather than a recipient of instructions. Today, we bring that conversation to a close with these bills, which I think you will find both aggressive in combating the problem of illegal immigration and thoughtful in the means and methods we have chosen.”
The new legislation (comprising of two bills and one resolution) creates a State Board of Immigration Enforcement, composed of the governor and the three Florida Cabinet members (chief financial officer, attorney general, and commissioner of agriculture), which will serve as a resource for the federal government for purposes of federal immigration laws.
That’s one of the biggest changes from the bill passed by the Legislature last month, which invested all state powers over illegal immigration in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and not with the governor’s office.
Albritton described the public dispute between the Legislature and the governor as a family matter.
“Siblings squabble sometimes, and what we’ve done is, is we’ve worked our way through that, and we’ve come up with what we believe is a great couple bills,” he told reporters after lawmakers convened on Tuesday.
Since DeSantis called for the lawmakers to meet for a special session a week after President Donald Trump took office, both sides appealed for the president’s approval, but he hasn’t addressed the dispute publicly other than to thank the governor for calling the special session.
“In total, this legislation rigorously implements President Trump’s plan to secure our border, protect our state and national sovereignty, as well as support Florida law enforcement and affirm the federal government’s responsibility over immigration,” Albritton said. “I hope it will earn your support.”
Details of the proposals
SB 4C/HB 3C creates new criminal offenses related to migrants entering the state after avoiding immigration enforcement officers, starting with a mandatory sentence of nine months in jail and going up to two years. That bill would make the death penalty mandatory for an immigrant who enters the country illegally if convicted of a capital offense such as murder or rape.
Brevard County Republican Sen. Randy Fine, a co-sponsor of SB 4C, told reporters he was optimistic the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold the death penalty provision, saying it was part of the bill because it’s a priority for Trump.
“The Supreme Court’s never dealt with the idea of illegal immigration being an aggravating factor, and that will have to be tested,” Fine said. “So, this specific instance has not been tested in court; we will see what happens.”
SB 2C/HB 1C appropriates $295 million, with $250 million going to a Local Law Enforcement Immigration Grant Program, which will give money to local law enforcement agencies working with the federal government.
It creates what is being called the State Immigration Enforcement Council, an eight-member group that will consist of four police chiefs from around the state (chosen by the governor and the three Cabinet officers) and four sheriffs, with two chosen by Perez and two by Albritton.
The memorial urges the federal secretary of Homeland Security to provide guidance, training opportunities, and any other necessary directives to ensure cooperation between federal and state and local officials and to “maximize the impact of state and local law enforcement agency assistance to the federal government in combating the effect of the unprecedented flood of illegal immigration in the United States.”
The bills are likely to pass on Thursday
Unlike the special session two weeks ago, this session is being held while the Legislature was already scheduled to hold committee meetings in advance of the regular session beginning in March. Instead of going through separate committees, the measures will go before only the House Budget Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday morning, with the bills then going to the full House and Senate on Thursday for final approval.
Perez made sure to give some positive feedback to DeSantis after the two leaders had exchanged harsh words in the media about their respective immigration bills in recent weeks.
“I want to thank our governor, Ron DeSantis, for tirelessly fighting for what he thinks is in the best interests of our state. Governor, we’ve gotten to know one another better in the last three weeks than in the last six years. I’m looking forward to the next two,” Perez said.
Leaders condemned online attacks against elected officials
The House speaker addressed the attacks that members of the Legislature endured from DeSantis supporters online in recent weeks.
“Over the last month, we have seen some of the uglier aspects of politics, including deranged online trolls issuing death threats,” he said. “But amid all of the noise and the nonsense, I have been so incredibly inspired by you.”
Albritton specifically called out vitriol against Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, whom the governor had labeled a “fox guarding the henhouse” after the Legislature voted to name him the state’s chief immigration officer.
However, Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo accused Republicans of feeding into online hate from people in their party.
“As somebody who has suffered real and present dangers of threats on my kids’ life and my own just for the public service that we’re performing, it’s horrible. It’s unacceptable, but some of you actually are fostering it on social media, so put an end to it,” he said.
The House meeting began with a prayer offered by Duval County Republican Wyman Duggan.
“Oh God, the fountain of wisdom, whose will is good and gracious and whose law is truth,” he said. “We beseech you so to guide and bless us that we may enact such laws as shall please you.”
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