Florida Republicans used a special session to rush through what the Miami Herald describes as a “secretive immigration program” that will allow Gov. Ron DeSantis to massively expand his cruel policy that last year tricked migrants onto Martha’s Vineyard-bound flights. Republicans passed legislation purporting to give the book banner authority to transport migrants from not only Florida, but from anywhere in the nation.
Of course, Desantis was already doing this. Remember that he sent his people to Texas to search out victims during the initial phase of his stunt using human beings as political props. But advocates warned this new bill goes even further, in effect allowing Florida to “hunt” down migrants. Millions have been set aside “to pay Florida law enforcement or contractors to track down and identify immigrants who are ‘intending’ to travel to Florida and ‘inform’ them about the relocation program,” the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Action Fund said. “Inform”? “Trick” is more accurate.
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“It’s shameful that the Florida Legislature would waste taxpayer dollars to hunt down and relocate immigrants across the country to further Gov. Ron DeSantis’s anti-immigrant agenda and political aspirations,” said SPLC Action Fund’s A.J. Hernandez Anderson. Republicans have set aside $10 million in taxpayer funds. But it’s also not out of the question that this bill could encourage racial profiling and the targeting of people with legal status by Florida law enforcement or contractors. Remember that shady recruiter “Perla” found some of her victims by trolling supermarket aisles.
“Everyone in Florida deserves a state government that puts their needs first,” Hernandez Anderson continued. “Instead of wasting taxpayer money on these political stunts, the Florida Legislature should focus on countering the skyrocketing housing costs.”
But Tampa Bay Times said Florida lawmakers used this recent special session to instead revisit DeSantis’ “top controversies,” including his targeting of Disney over the company pushing back on his anti-LGBTQ legislation. The special session allowed Republicans to skip proper public input from advocates like Florida Immigrant Coalition. The organization tied the expanded relocation program to Black history banning and other efforts DeSantis is engaged in “to elevate his national recognition” ahead of 2024.
“This legislature, with its Republican super-majority, is wasting no time to fast-track even before the official start of the legislative session, bills that they know are controversial and unpopular," said Florida Immigrant Coalition’s David Metellus. “SB 6-B is a love letter from this group of lawmakers to their boss Ron DeSantis. You see, this legislature is not doing the people’s work, but carrying DeSantis’ bags as he gears up for his presidential run.”
That’s all entirely accurate. Miami Herald noted that Democrats had been demanding to know how the funds were going to be spent. It’s not a big ask: DeSantis is currently under investigation by the Treasury Department watchdog for possibly misusing federal funds in aid of this stunt. However, “it was clear Republican leadership didn’t think they needed to know in order to give DeSantis what he wants,” the report continued. “Our governor broke the law and instead of following the law he is changing the law,” Democratic lawmaker Anna Eskamani said in the Miami Herald.
The collateral damage will continue to be asylum-seeking individuals and families, but possibly on an even larger scale. Migrants have described how a recruiter later identified as former combat medic and counterintelligence agent Puerla Huerta lured them with false promises of assistance, including convincing some to sign forms they didn’t understand in exchange for $10 McDonald’s gift cards. Huerta has since been named in a lawsuit challenging the stunt.
Through policies like state-enforced harassment, attacks on learning, and book banning, DeSantis himself is becoming much like the authoritarians that many asylum-seekers have fled from in the first place. ”Millions of kids in Cuba are, like I was, still forbidden access to certain kinds of books,” Miami Herald columnist Fabiola Santiago recently wrote. “Now Florida’s 3 million are, too.”
“Today is a sad day,” said Florida Immigrant Coalition Board Chair Afifa Khaliq. “We are sad, angry, and worried, but unfortunately not surprised. With this bill’s passing, Florida has cemented itself as a cruel and unwelcoming place for families that are seeking safety from dictatorial regimes. What a difference from the 50s and 60s when we welcomed Cuban refugees and others with open arms.”
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