Florida legislative leaders announced late Monday that the body would be having its third special session over the past month focused on immigration.
In a joint statement announcing the session, Senate President Benjamin Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez said the bills proposed in the special session are products of feedback from DeSantis, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, and collaboration with the Trump Administration.
“We are proud that over the last few weeks conversations and debate within the Legislature on these issues have been civil and respectful. By working together with the Governor towards a shared goal, these proposals and appropriations ensure Florida continues to lead by example with the strongest crackdown on illegal immigration in the nation,” they wrote.
The new session, scheduled to start Tuesday at noon, comes after Governor Ron DeSantis pledged to veto the package lawmakers passed in January. He claimed it wasn’t strong enough and was unhappy that their proposal took away immigration enforcement responsibilities from him. His pledge to veto their package came after they rejected immigration bills he supported by gaveling out the first special session DeSantis called, then gaveling in their own.
The new proposals and the previous ones are very similar. However, the new legislation would task a board consisting of all four Florida executive cabinet members to coordinate cooperation on immigration enforcement with the federal government. It would also make it a state crime to enter Florida as an undocumented immigrant, one of the main asks in DeSantis’ proposal.
In a video posted to the social media platform X, DeSantis praised lawmakers returning to the table. He pledged to back their new proposals if they pass the legislature.
“Now is the time for us to get this done. We've been talking about this issue for years and years and years. Now we have a mandate. We got to deliver on that mandate, and the state of Florida is doing all it can to be great partners with the federal government in this very important national initiative,” he said.
With the Republican-controlled legislature and DeSantis signaling support, its likely this round of proposals will be the final ones in this legislative standoff.
