TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republicans in Tallahassee announced Monday they would start a new special legislative session aimed at changing the sweeping immigration bill in the Florida Legislature passed in both chambers in January.
Lawmakers gaveled in at noon to begin the special legislative session.
What You Need To Know
- Republicans in Tallahassee announced a new special session aimed at changing the sweeping immigration bill passed last month
- Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly voiced disapproval of the proposal
- Some of the key proposals that would be different included the creation of a State Board of Immigration Enforcement that would include the governor and other top Florida officials
Florida Senate President Ben Albritton and Speaker of the House Daniel Perez announced the session in a joint memorandum issued late Monday proposing the special session to focus exclusively on the topic of immigration.
"Over the last several weeks, there has been a great deal of productive discussion on how the state of Florida can best assist President Trump’s efforts to crackdown on illegal immigration, with a particular focus on partnerships between local, state, and federal law enforcement to arrest, detain, and deport criminal illegal immigrants," the two wrote in the statement.
They view the session as a way to alter the immigration package that was passed in January over vehement opposition by the governor.
Some of the key proposals that would be different included the creation of a State Board of Immigration Enforcement that would be made of up the governor, Commissioner of Agriculture, the state Attorney General, and the Chief Financial Officer.
Additionally, the board will be tasked with releasing grants to law enforcement to go towards the enforcement of immigration laws.
It will also make a defendant's immigration status available to a judge in a case in a move to, "keep dangerous illegal immigrants behind bars," according to the statement.
DeSantis responded quickly, saying he was happy lawmakers were, "stepping up to the plate."
Requiring state and local participation in federal immigration enforcement, making it a crime to enter FL illegally, and ending catch-and-release of criminal aliens — all great policies and I’m happy to see the FL Legislature stepping up to get the job done… pic.twitter.com/ZlRHQ2U2gl
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 11, 2025
Democrats were less supportive, saying that lawmakers needed to focus on other issues that need to be addressed.
"This is our second special session within 30 days to address to address a problem that really the federal government should be working on so that means we have missed opportunities to focus on issues that are important to Floridians like lowering the cost of healthcare auto insurance property insurance so yeah a lot of time has been wasted on this while Republicans in the legislature and the governor tries to suck up to Donald Trump," House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said.
Lawmakers spent weeks laboring over the details in the package passed in January. The bill’s language divided Tallahassee — even leaving some GOP lawmakers upset.
“If the governor really wanted to play in illegal immigration, he should have appointed himself to the U.S. Senate. But this is a Florida House. We get things done and we can bring results for our residents back home,” State Rep. Juan Porras said at the time.