Florida Gov. Ron Desantis on Thursday pushed Republican state lawmakers to take urgent action on illegal immigration, voting to fight like a “junkyard” and warning of political consequences for defiance.
The governor leaned on the Florida Legislature ahead of a special session next week in which he wants lawmakers to pass new bills to combat illegal immigration in sync with the president Donald Trumps Administration at the federal level. But GOP leaders have called the session “premature” and have indicated they may pass without taking action on the governor’s agenda items.
Desantis warned that would be a costly mistake. “It would be very, very dangerous politically,” he told reporters during a roundtable at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. He also suggested he will call another special session of the Legislature if GOP leaders delay action.
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Desantis holds a press conference with emergency officials as a hurricane hits his state on October 9, 2024. (AP)
“I have my constitutional authority to wield in this process and I will continue to wield it so we can get the job done,” he said, adding that he would fight like a “junkyard” to get his immigration policy enacted.
“You’re not letting go.”
Desantis wants Republicans to enact laws that would require state and local officials to comply with the new immigration orders issued by the White House and provide funding for them to do so. He has also called for legislation that would punish state and local officials who violate Florida’s “anti-sanctuary policy,” WPTV reported.
The governor also directed lawmakers to consider additional hurricane relief, crack down on Signature ballot initiative fraud and address rising HOA costs.
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People are seen boarding a US military aircraft. The White House announced Friday that “deportation flights have begun” in the US (White House)
House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton reacted coolly when the governor set up a special legislative session starting January 27. In a joint statement on January 13, they called it “irresponsible” for the legislature to act on any announcements Trump may make on immigration and criticized Desantisstating that the governor had only offered “fragmented ideas” and had not released any bill or details for lawmakers to consider.
Lawmakers “will decide when and what legislation we consider,” Florida House and Senate leaders said.
Trump has already issued a flurry of executive orders to begin promised “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants present in the United States. On Monday, Trump declared an emergency at the southern border, deployed 1,500 troops to the border and ended the Biden administration’s CBP One App program to process migrants at ports of entry through humanitarian parole.
His administration then launched a mass deportation operation, with ICE agents active in multiple US cities and states.
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Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty images)
The Department of Homeland Security also issued memos placing limits on ICE by the Biden administration, ordering a parole review and expanding the use of expedited removal for recently arrived illegal immigrants.
And the Trump administration has moved to restore border wall construction and restore the rest-in-Mexico policy, which requires migrants to remain in Mexico for the duration of their asylum cases.
These combined policies have resulted in a sharp 35% drop in illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border, multiple Department of Homeland Security sources told FOX News Digital.
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Desantis dismissed the Legislature’s concerns, telling reporters Thursday, “We’ve been waiting for this moment for years. It’s not premature.”
‘We can’t drag our feet. We can’t wait for something to come into effect in July. We need something immediately and we need to get everything moving, and we need to do what we told the people who elected us that we would do. ”
Adam Shaw of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
