After rebuke from legislative leaders, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledges to veto immigration bill
Cuban migrant Wilfredo Cabrera Del Sol, center, is turned away for not having an appointment as he tries to request deportation at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Miramar, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Read More
2 of 3 |
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Heritage Foundation 50th Anniversary Celebration leadership summit, Friday, April 21, 2023, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)Read More
3 of 3 |
A mother thanks notary Adela Morales, right, and Nora Sandigo, left, after she signed documents giving Sandigo legal guardianship of her children, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Miami. Since December, Sandigo has become the legal guardian of at least 30 children. She has been doing so for 15 years and is the legal guardian to more than 2,000 children of undocumented immigrants. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)Read More
By STEPHANY MATAT and KATE PAYNEUpdated 6:07 PM EST, January 29, 2025Share
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to veto a sweeping immigration bill on Wednesday in the latest escalation of a statehouse showdown with Republican legislative leaders over whose proposals would best carry out President Donald Trump ’s immigration crackdown.
The bill allocates half a billion dollars to beefing up state and local coordination with federal law enforcement. It would mean enhanced criminal penalties for immigrants without legal permission who commit crimes in the U.S.
In a challenge to the term-limited governor who has leveraged his executive power like no other Florida leader in recent memory, the bill cedes DeSantis’ oversight authority on immigration procedures and grants it to the state’s agriculture commissioner. DeSantis has lambasted the move as putting the “fox in charge of the hen house” and has railed against the bill and its supporters on cable news and social media.
The morning after the measure was passed, DeSantis pledged to veto the bill, which he criticized as “watered-down.” It had not been sent to the governor’s office as of Wednesday afternoon.