Florida Gov. DeSantis signs expansion of migrant resettlement program
TALLAHASSEE, Florida. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed bills to expand his migrant resettlement program and strengthen the prosecutorial powers of his selective police force, advancing key components of his conservative program ahead of his expected run for the White House.
Republican lawmakers in the GOP-dominated Legislature voted to approve the bills during a special session last week that focused on some of what became the Republican governor’s signature priorities.
One of the new laws creates a special migrant resettlement program in the governor’s office and specifies that the state can transport migrants located anywhere in the country.
The law is intended to address legal issues surrounding last year’s flight, which the governor’s administration used to relocate a group of South American migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The trip was paid for using money legally intended to move migrants who were in Florida and not in other states.
The program will almost certainly ease future migrant flights as DeSantis continues to focus on cultural hotspots like immigration, as well as near-constant criticism of Democratic President Joe Biden’s policies on the way to an expected presidential candidacy.
“Florida is using every tool available to protect our citizens from Biden’s open borders policy,” DeSantis tweeted. “I am glad that I signed the law on the continuation of the program of transportation of illegal immigrants in the asylum jurisdiction. I thank the legislature for supporting this valuable tool.”
Republicans say the program will help migrants by sending them to sanctuary cities. Democrats criticized it as a political stunt designed to serve the governor’s national political ambitions.
Another bill signed by the governor specifies that the state’s attorney has the power to prosecute crimes related to federal and state elections, which is intended to strengthen the DeSantis Electoral Police Unit.
Last year, DeSantis pushed for an electoral policing unit to address Republican fears of vote-rigging that have circulated among conservatives following former President Donald Trump’s false claims that his re-election had been stolen. The unit is housed in the Governor’s Department of State and handles allegations of fraud and conducts preliminary investigations along with a dedicated team of state police officers who investigate violations.
Since its inception, some of the division’s election fraud cases have been dropped by judges who said the state’s attorney did not have jurisdiction to bring charges.
The Democrats, the state’s minority party, said the Electoral Police Unit could dissuade people from voting and was unnecessary given that local authorities could investigate such crimes.
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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.
