The Florida Legislature has passed SB 1808, known as an immigration crackdown bill, and it will be sent to the desk of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The bill will keep banning the state from contracting with companies that transport illegal aliens.
The bill passed largely along party lines with two House Republicans joining Democrats and voting “No”: State Representatives Vance Aloupis (R-Miami) and Rene Plasencia (R-Orlando). The final House vote was 77-42 in the affirmative.
The Florida House was the most recent chamber to approve the bill with the Florida Senate passing it 24-15 a week ago.
The crackdown comes after DeSantis called on the legislature to prioritize the issue and after President Joe Biden’s administration has been flying and busing illegal aliens into Florida. Back in October, a plane full of illegal aliens was flown into Jacksonville under the cover of night; the passengers were then bused to different regions throughout the state.
However, Biden has been shipping illegal aliens into Florida as far back as March 2021.
In September 2021, the State of Florida sued the Biden administration and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s lawsuit said at the time that Biden’s immigration policy would cost Florida millions of dollars.
“While some arriving migrants have legitimate asylum claims, many do not,” the suit said. “Some are gang members and drug traffickers exploiting the crisis at the border, as evidenced by the skyrocketing amount of Fentanyl seized at the border this year.”
DeSantis then announced in September that he would be seeking an $8 million program to transport illegal aliens back out of Florida.
Florida State Rep. John Snyder (R-Stuart) said that the bill sends a message to the federal government.
“What this bill is simply doing is sending a message to the federal government that we, as Floridians, deserve to know who’s who and what’s what,” Snyder said.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D), a potential Democrat opponent to DeSantis in the 2022 gubernatorial race, criticized the Florida Senate’s passage of the bill.
“The Florida Legislature continues to demonize, demagogue, and dehumanize immigrants,” Fried said. “It needs to stop.”
The Florida Legislature continues to demonize, demagogue, and dehumanize immigrants.
It needs to stop. https://t.co/ezKD2FCuRp
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) March 4, 2022
However, the bill would not impact companies who transport unaccompanied minors through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
DeSantis is expected to sign the legislation.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
