Third Special Session Convened This Week on Negotiated Illegal Immigration Enforcement Legislation to Assist Federal Government

Late Monday, the Florida Legislature announced a third special session on illegal immigration that kicked off Tuesday at noon and ran through Thursday. The legislation that passed was a negotiated product between Governor Ron DeSantis, House and Senate leadership, and Ag Commissioner Wilton Simpson. SB 2C created the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, made up of the Governor and the Cabinet, to aid the federal government in immigration enforcement.  The bill also eliminated in-state tuition for “dreamers,” or the children of undocumented immigrants, made it a felony charge for illegal immigrants that vote in our elections, and provides funding for law enforcement.

A summary of the three bills that passed can be found here.

This was the third special session over 3 weeks on illegal immigration, with the Governor calling a special session on illegal immigration, condominium association reserve requirements, disaster recovery and ballot initiative integrity–a longstanding Florida Chamber priority–for the week of January 27. The Legislature gaveled in and out of Special Session A, stating they would tackle three of those issues during the regular session beginning March 4, and convened in Special Session B to take up a different illegal immigration package than what the Governor had proposed. The Governor said he would veto the bill from Special Session B because it did not go far enough, resulting in a public feud between Republican leaders that concluded with a deal on Special Session C.

For questions about this update and/or to get involved with our efforts to secure Florida’s legislative future, contact our Vice President of Government Affairs, Carolyn Johnson at cjohnson@flchamber.com.