Fox13-Tampa Bay ran a story yesterday headlined “Governor Ron DeSantis, law enforcement officials push ‘sense of urgency’ on illegal immigration.” Two days ago, the leaders of Florida’s legislature pushed back against DeSantis’ plan to hold a special legislative session on immigration, calling the Governor’s plan “poorly defined” and “unnecessary.” So the Governor amped up the pressure. Yesterday, he held a press conference with Florida’s most popular sheriffs and laid out a more specific and very aggressive list of bold immigration reforms he wants to see legislators deliver next week.
“We in Florida have a sense of urgency to accomplish this mission,” DeSantis explained. Well, most of us have a sense of urgency. “The mission is very simple,” he continued, “we need to end the illegal immigration crisis once and for all in these United States of America.”
Huzzah.
As he often did during covid,
DeSantis also delivered a one-page primer describing the legislative package he is looking for. The scope of what the Nation’s Best Governor wants is astonishingly bold:
“You can’t just say ‘wait till they commit a serious felony’ until you deport them,” DeSantis argued. “If you have gangs, like these Venezuelan gangs running roughshod around the country —we have some in Florida, too— you shouldn’t have to wait for them to commit a crime and victimize somebody. You should be able to just turn ‘em over to ICE and get them back to their home country where they belong.”
Indeed.
Leading —from the front— Governor DeSantis added, “We need to enact strong policies that will help this Administration accomplish the mission the American people spoke loudly and clearly about in November.”
As we reported yesterday, the Governor recalled Florida’s lawmakers back to Tallahassee on January 27th to handle this agenda. I’m somewhat sympathetic to the legislators, whose late January schedules are being ripped to shreds. Plus, here in stingy Florida, where we don’t turn politics into permanent careers, lawmakers only receive $29,697 a year for their service. They also get $152 per diem during legislative sessions, which is not luxurious.
So we can sympathize with their discomfort, but we also have expectations for their commitment. They all signed up for this. And this is why we voted for them. Like during the pandemic, now is the time for Florida’s lawmakers to lead the country like our stellar Governor is doing. Now is their opportunity to help make history help and make the country great again. Legislators: we are with you. Trust Governor DeSantis and follow his lead. Remember how well DeSantis led us during covid. Grab this historical moment with both hands. Turn our
