After rebuke from legislative leaders, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledges to veto immigration bill

[January 30, 2025]  By STEPHANY MATAT and KATE PAYNE

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to veto a sweeping immigration bill on Wednesday in the latest escalation of a statehouse showdown with Republican legislative leaders over whose proposals would best carry out President Donald Trump ’s immigration crackdown.

The bill allocates half a billion dollars to beefing up state and local coordination with federal law enforcement. It would mean enhanced criminal penalties for immigrants without legal permission who commit crimes in the U.S.

In a challenge to the term-limited governor who has leveraged his executive power like no other Florida leader in recent memory, the bill cedes DeSantis’ oversight authority on immigration procedures and grants it to the state’s agriculture commissioner. DeSantis has lambasted the move as putting the “fox in charge of the hen house" and has railed against the bill and its supporters on cable news and social media.

The morning after the measure was passed, DeSantis pledged to veto the bill, which he criticized as “watered-down.” It had not been sent to the governor's office as of Wednesday afternoon.

“We must have the strongest law in the nation on immigration enforcement. We cannot be weak,” DeSantis posted on X. “The veto pen is ready.”

DeSantis held two roundtable events Wednesday where he claimed the bill makes Florida a “de facto sanctuary state,” accused Republican leaders of siding with Democrats on immigration, and said conservative voters have every right to “sock it” to their elected representatives if they don't like the bill.

“How could I possibly sign something that is contrary to everything I’ve campaigned on?" DeSantis told reporters in Ft. Myers.

Now the question is whether the Republican-dominated legislature can drum up enough support to override the veto, after some GOP lawmakers voted against the measure. Rep. John Temple wrote on X that he regretted his yes vote the previous evening. He said he won't support his Republican colleagues in overriding the veto, if DeSantis does veto it.

Republicans appear to need to win over some Senate Democrats in order to override, which could expose GOP members to even more attacks from the right.

In hours of emotional debate, Democratic lawmakers pressed the bill's sponsors about a provision that would strip Florida students of in-state tuition if they're in the country illegally. However, some said they would vote for the overarching bill if the tuition issue was amended. The law benefitted about 6,500 students in Florida during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Cuban migrant Wilfredo Cabrera Del Sol, center, is turned away for not having an appointment as he tries to request deportation at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Miramar, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

“If the bad pill wasn't in here,” Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones said during debate, “I'm almost sure that you would have gotten a unanimous vote.”

The bill passed the House and Senate largely along party lines, although six Republicans in the Senate and one in the House voted against it, including some of the governor’s allies.

After DeSantis took to TV news and social media, Republican leaders said they worked with the Trump administration to amend the bill, dubbed the TRUMP Act, to help marshal state and local resources to carry out the president's agenda. However, they resisted adding some of the governor's priorities, like creating a legal presumption that people in the country illegally are a flight risk.

Legislators deliberated on the 80-plus page bill for hours Tuesday, which includes more than $500 million in funding to hire new officers, equip and train local agencies, and reimburse counties for leasing detention space to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

DeSantis has been criticizing the legislation since it was announced by House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton — which they did in a striking act of defiance by dismissing the governor's call for a special session and gaveling in their own.

On Monday, Albritton and Perez emphasized that they want to address the immigration crisis but did not agree with the governor’s proposals to criminally charge local police officers who did not comply with state and federal immigration orders.

After the bill was passed Tuesday night, Perez seemed to address criticism from the governor and his allies, telling his members to “not get distracted” by all the noise on social media.

“Threatening others to get your way isn’t leadership, it’s immaturity,” Perez said.

Democrats have criticized the bill process as rushed and some of its provisions cruel. They pushed to protect Florida's schools and places of worship from potential raids or searches, in light of the bill's requirement that all government employees “cooperate to the fullest extent possible” with federal immigration enforcement.
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Matat reported from West Palm Beach, Florida.

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